World Bank Gives 'Deeply Sobering' Forecast on Global Economy

The World Bank painted a gloomy picture of the global economy this year, forecasting that it will shrink by 5.2 percent to mark the deepest recession since World War II.

The World Bank revised its January 2020 global growth estimate by 7.7 percentage points on its Global Economic Prospects report.

Countries that rely heavily on commodity exports, global trade, and tourism, and those with high case and death counts will suffer the most.

The World Bank pointed out that the global crisis would affect more countries than any other economic downturn since 1870.

Expected to contract by 7 percent are advanced economies while emerging markets and developing economies are forecast to shrink 2.5 percent, which is the weakest shown by these economies in at least sixty years.

It would result in lower investment, fragmentation of global trade and supply linkages, and erosion of human capital due to lost work and schooling.

The decline is expected to reverse years of progress and send tens of millions to extreme poverty.

World Bank Group Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, called the outlook deeply sobering and urged the global community to prevent more people from falling into poverty and unemployment.