World’s Growth Cools and the Rich-Poor Divide Widens - The New York Times

The overall growth rate will remain near 6 percent this year, a historically high level after a recession, but the expansion reflects a vast divergence in the fortunes of rich and poor countries, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest World Economic Outlook report.

While booster shots are becoming available in some wealthier nations, a staggering 96 percent of people in low-income countries are still unvaccinated.

The outlook for the United States, Europe and other advanced economies has also darkened.

to pare back its growth projections to 6 percent from the 7 percent estimated in July.

lowered its 2021 global growth forecast to 5.9 percent, down from the 6 percent projected in July.

For countries like China, Vietnam and South Korea, whose economies have large manufacturing sectors, “inflation hits them where it hurts the most,” Mr.

This week, oil prices hit a seven-year high in the United States.

According to newly updated reports from the World Bank, 13 of the 16 countries in that region will have lower standards of living this year than they did before the pandemic, in large part because of “underfinanced, imbalanced and ill-prepared health systems.”.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, there are fears of a second lost decade of growth like the one experienced after 2010.

And in East Asia and the Pacific, a World Bank update warned that “Covid-19 threatens to create a combination of slow growth and increasing inequality for the first time this century.” Businesses in Indonesia, Mongolia and the Philippines lost on average 40 percent or more of their typical monthly sales.

Growth projections ticked up slightly to 6.4 percent in 2021 compared with 6.3 percent estimated in July.

“Developing countries are essential to global economic function.”.

approved $650 billion worth of emergency currency reserves that have been distributed to countries around the world.

In this latest report, it again called on wealthy countries to help ensure that these funds are used to benefit poor countries that have been struggling the most with the fallout of the virus