The United Nations is forecasting that the coronavirus pandemic will shrink the world economy by 3.2 percent this year, the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
The UN’s mid-year report says COVID-19 is expected to slash global economic output by nearly $8.5 trillion over the next two years, wiping out nearly all gains of the past four years.
In January, the UN forecast a modest growth of 2.5% in 2020.
The United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects report says the pandemic is also “exacerbating poverty and inequality,” with an estimated 34.3 million people likely to fall below the extreme poverty line in 2020 — 56% of them in Africa.
People wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus walk on the street in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, Monday, May 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
It says an additional 130 million people may join the ranks of people living in extreme poverty by 2030, dealing a “huge blow” to global efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by the end of the decade.
— AP
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