UN forecasts fall in global economic growth to 1.9%Edith M Lederer, Associated PressThe United Nations has forecast that global economic growth will fall significantly to 1.9 per cent this year as a result of the food and energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine, the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, persistently high inflation and the climate emergency. Painting a gloomy and uncertain economic outlook, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs said the current global economic slowdown “cuts across both developed and developing countries, with many facing risks of recession in 2023”. The report said this year’s 1.9 per cent economic growth forecast – down from an estimated 3 per cent in 2022 – is one of the lowest growth rates in recent decades. The UN projected economic growth in Africa to slow from an estimated 4.1 per cent in 2022 to 3.8 per cent this year. It forecast that regional growth will slow to just 1.4 per cent in 2023 from an estimated expansion of 3.8 per cent in 2022.

Source: Irish Independent January 26, 2023 01:31 UTC