The World Economic Prospects report prepared by the World Bank (WB) predicted that the global economy will slow down for the third consecutive year. This year it is predicted to grow 2.4% compared to the 2.6% registered last year and the 3% registered in 2022:
As the world nears the midpoint of what was expected to be a transformative decade for development, the global economy is set to rack up a sorry record by the end of 2024: the slowest half-decade of GDP growth in the 30 years.
GEP-Jan-2024 by Veronica Silveri on Scribd
In a statement, World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill said:
Near-term growth will remain weak, leaving many developing countries—especially the poorest—stuck in a trap: with paralyzing levels of debt and tenuous access to food for nearly one out of every three people.
U.S. and developing economies grow more slowly
The study noted that "recent conflict in the Middle East has accentuated geopolitical risks and increased uncertainty in raw materials markets for global growth." Like other determining events, the World Bank named "the persistent effects of economic shocks the covid-19 pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia , and the subsequent tightening of global monetary conditions".
According to the report's projections, " developing economies will grow by only 3.9%, one percentage point below the average recorded in the previous decade." On the other hand, countries considered low income will grow less than expected (5.5%). For advanced economies, growth of 1.2% is forecast:
By the end of 2024, the population of about one in four developing countries and about 40% of low-income countries will remain poorer than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. In advanced economies, for their part, it is expected that in 2024 growth will slow down and go from 1.5% registered in 2023 to 1.2%.
For the US, the report forecasts slower growth , presenting a drop from the 2.5% recorded in 2023 to 1.6% this year.
