The global economy is set to hit a grim record by the end of 2024: the slowest half-decade of GDP growth in 30 years, Euronews reports citing the World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects report.
Economic performance in the first half of the 2020s is on track to be even worse than the aftermath of the financial crisis and other downturns since the early 1990s, the report, published on Tuesday, suggests.
Despite global growth being projected to slow for the third year in a row (from 2.6% last year to 2.4% in 2024), the Washington-based organisation is confident the global economy is in a better place than it was a year ago.
It believes the prospect of a global recession has receded, largely because of the strength of the US economy. However, it warns that rising geopolitical tensions, particularly as a result of Israel's war with Hamas and the conflict in Ukraine, pose a risk of even weaker growth.
"Without a major course correction, the 2020s will go down as a decade of wasted opportunity," World Bank's Chief Economist Indermit Gill said.
The World Bank predicts the 20-nation euro area will grow 0.7% this year, a modest improvement on last year's 0.4% expansion.
The international financial institution expects economic growth in the US - the country which led the way in 2023, with a 2.5% growth - to decelerate to 1.6% this year as higher interest rates weaken borrowing and spending.
China's economy, the world’s second largest, is forecast to grow 4.5% this year and 4.3% in 2025, down sharply from 5.2% last year.
Japan's economy is expected to grow just 0.9%, half the pace of its 2023 expansion.
