Global Growth To Decline By 2 Per Cent, Says World Bank

David Malpass, the World Bank Group President, has projected that the global growth is expected to be weak in 2023, slowing to two per cent from 3.1 per cent in 2022.

The 2orld Bank President made this known in his Opening address at the ongoing Spring Meetings 2023 Media Call.

According to him, several factors are weighing on the second-half outlook.

“Oil prices have jumped back above 80 dollars/barrel. The recent banking sector stress dampens activities and inflation pressures persist.

“If we look at developing countries excluding China, we expect a slowdown to about 3.1 per cent in 2023 from 4.1 per cent in 2022.

“The concern in our recent reports is that slow growth will persist for years for many developing countries, increasing the fiscal stress and debt problems.

“It is a combination of weak investment, higher interest rates, and relatively weak growth in the advanced economies.’’

He said the danger is acute due to inflation, currency depreciation, rising debt service costs, and the collapse of international reserves.

Malpass said the diversion of natural gas to Europe presented grave obstacles to developing country production of electricity, fertiliser, and food.

He stated, “These problems are severely constraining future growth and deepening inequality and fragility for developing countries.

"I travelled to West Africa in March, where we are working to provide support in the face of these problems.

“Looking at the big picture, I will mention two problems, first, the normalisation of interest rates after an artificial decade near zero.