The global economy will experience a subdued recovery this year from the devastating pandemic, the World Bank predicted Tuesday, but it warned that the near-term outlook is highly uncertain and growth could be imperilled if coronavirus infections and delays in the rollout of vaccines continue.
In its new Global Economic Outlook, the World Bank forecast 4 per cent growth this year following a 4.3 per cent decline in 2020, the biggest plunge in global output since a contraction of 9.8 per cent in 1945 as nations demobilised at the end of World War II.
By comparison, the global recession triggered by the Great Depression of the 1930s saw growth shrink by 4.8 per cent on average from 1930 through 1932. The 2008 financial crisis triggered a 1.8 per cent drop in global output in 2009.