Against the backdrop of a devastating pandemic, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by 3.2% this year, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) mid-2020 report published on Wednesday.
The global economy is expected to lose nearly $8.5 trillion in output over the next two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, wiping out nearly all gains of the previous four years. The sharp economic contraction, which marks the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression in the 1930s, comes on top of anemic economic forecasts of only 2.1% at the start of the year.
The report estimates that GDP growth in developed economies is expected to plunge to minus 5% in 2020. A modest, 3.4% growth – barely enough to make up for the lost output – is expected in 2021. World trade is forecast to contract by nearly 15% in 2020 amid sharply reduced global demand and disruptions in global supply chains.
COVID-19 to slash global economic output by $8.5 trn next 2 years: UN
