According to the latest Global Economic Prospects report, global growth will slow from 2.9 percent in 2022 to 1.7 percent in 2023. The outlook has several downside risks, including the possibility…

Jeetendra Khadan, Sam Hill |

In more than 80 percent of these countries, government debt is now higher than before the 2008-09 global financial crisis. Many of these economies need to urgently improve fiscal positions within…

M. Ayhan Kose, Franziska Ohnsorge, Naotaka Sugawara |

This blog analyses the consequences of an energy shock on global growth. It puts the current rise in energy prices into historical context, presents model-based estimates of its growth impacts,…

Justin-Damien Guénette, Jeetendra Khadan |

The World Bank’s latest forecasts, published today, reflect a sizable downgrade to the outlook: global growth is expected to slow sharply from 5.7 percent in 2021 to 2.9 percent this year.

David Malpass |

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not only caused an enormous humanitarian catastrophe, but an economic shock as well. This blog presents five charts that convey how the war is hastening an…

Justin-Damien Guénette, Collette Wheeler |

Weak recoveries in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) are expected to raise between-country inequality. Within-country income inequality is also estimated to have increased somewhat…

Amat Adarov |

Global debt levels surged in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A rise in debt has led to several countries initiating debt restructuring, while many others are in or at high risk of debt…

Peter Nagle |

The GEP analysis presents three broad and worrisome trends: income inequality across countries (international) and within countries (domestic), and inequality of opportunity (interpersonal).

Carolina Sánchez-Páramo, Silvia Malgioglio |

As we approach the third year of the COVID-19 crisis, we deepen our understanding of the pandemic’s impact on poverty and inequality across the globe. One of the many changes prompted by COVID was…

Nishant Yonzan, Alexandru Cojocaru, Christoph Lakner, Daniel Gerszon Mahler, Ambar Narayan |

After rebounding to an estimated 5.5 percent in 2021, global growth is expected to decelerate markedly in 2022—to 4.1 percent, reflecting continued COVID-19 flare-ups, diminished fiscal support,…

Lucia Quaglietti, Collette Wheeler |