New Delhi: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said that world economic growth is likely to slow in 2023, risking higher poverty and hunger rates globally.
The IMF chief said that the world economy is expected to grow less than 3 per cent in 2023, down from 3.4 per cent last year, reported Associated Press.
The report also quoted Kristalina Georgieva saying that the growth is expected to remain around 3 per cent for the next five years. She said it is “our lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990, and well below the average of 3.8 per cent from the past two decades.”
She said slower growth would be a “severe blow,” making it even harder for low-income countries to catch up.
“Poverty and hunger could further increase, a dangerous trend that was started by the COVID crisis,” she said.
Georgieva made her remarks at a Meridian-Politico event ahead of the IMF and World Bank’s spring meetings, which will take place in Washington next week and bring together decision-makers to discuss the most crucial challenges affecting the world economy.
The annual meeting is happening as central banks all around the world hike interest rates to combat persistent inflation and as a continuing debt crisis in emerging economies increases debt loads and hinders national growth.