Growth is forecast to slow from three per cent in 2022 to 1.9 per cent this year, according to the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects Report. This will be one of the lowest growth rates in recent decades, apart from during the 2007-8 financial crisis and the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings come amid the backdrop of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and resulting food and energy crises, surging inflation, debt tightening, as well as the climate emergency. Both developed and developing countries are threatened with the prospects of recession during this year, according to a World Bank report. Slow growth, high inflation and mounting debt burdens are threatening hard-won gains in achieving Global development goals.
“This action includes a transformative SDG stimulus package, generated through the collective and concerted efforts of all stakeholders,” he added. Global inflation reached a multi-decade high of about 9 per cent in 2022, and is projected to ease but remain elevated at 6.5 per cent in 2023. The report found that most developing countries saw a slower job recovery in 2022 and continue to face relatively high levels of unemployment. DESA calls for reallocation and reprioritization in public spending policy, through direct interventions that will create jobs and reinvigorate growth.
