The new report boosted global growth for 2020
by 0.9 percentage-points from its June forecast,
reflecting in part a better-than-expected
performance in China and the United States.
But the forecast trimmed the outlook for 2021
by 0.2 percentage points.
For the United States, the decline for 2020
was revised up by 2.5 percentage points to
a smaller decline of 3.6%, and the 3.5%
rebound for 2021 was lowered by half a
percentage point.
To combat the sharp downturn, the World Bank
has made $160 billion available to help more
than 100 countries protect the poor, support
businesses and bolster the recovery.
Malpass, in a briefing for reporters, said the
World Bank was making available $12 billion
to provide 1 billion COVID-19 vaccinations in
poor countries.
“People at the bottom of the income scale were
hardest hit by the shutdowns and recession
and will most likely be the slowest to regain
jobs and get vaccinations,” Malpass said.
The World Bank expects the euro area will
suffer a 7.4% drop in growth for 2020 followed
by a 3.6% rise in 2021, while it says Japan’s
growth will fall 5.3% in 2020 and then rebound
by 2.5% this year.
For all advanced economies, the World Bank
predicted a drop of 5.4% in 2020 and a rise
of 3.3% in 2021. For emerging markets and
developing countries, the World Bank said
when all figures are reported, growth will have
dropped 2.6% in 2020 followed and that will be
followed by an increase of 5% this year.