Source:Anadolu Agency 
Kathmandu, May 9: The World Bank has projected that the situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic will be a major blow to the economic growth rate as the world economy slows down. The World Bank’s report on ‘Global Economic Prospects 2020’ released on Monday states that no region of the world will be spared the effects of the epidemic.
The report notes that the number of people infected with COVID 19 in South Asian countries is relatively low, but has had a negative impact on short-term economic activity. The region’s economic growth rate is projected to average 2.2 percent. The World Bank has projected that Nepal’s growth rate for the current year will be only 1.8 percent.
The government estimates that Nepal will achieve 2.3 percent economic growth in the current fiscal year. The World Bank estimates that it will reach 2.1 percent next year (2021). Though Nepal’s projection for the current fiscal year is low, it is the second largest in South Asia. India is ahead of Nepal, which is expected to achieve an economic growth rate of 4.2 percent. However, in 2021, India’s growth rate will be negative at 3.2 percent.
In terms of growth rate, it is estimated that after Nepal, Bangladesh will reach 1.6 percent and Bhutan 1.5 percent. The growth rate of all other South Asian countries is projected to be negative. The Maldives has the highest growth rate at 13 percent, followed by Afghanistan at 5.5 percent, Sri Lanka at 3.2 percent and Pakistan at 2.6 percent, according to a World Bank report. According to the World Bank, growth in the region was hampered by stagnation in industrial and services activities, a decline in inland trade and a drop in consumption due to the downturn. Similarly, the growth rate of tourism-based economies such as Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka has been further affected, according to the World Bank.
The biggest tension after World War II
The report notes that the Corona epidemic has plunged the world economy into its biggest recession since World War II. Although the world has experienced four major recessions since World War II, the current one is the largest, according to the World Bank. The epidemic is expected to slow the global economy to 5.2 percent this year.
The World Bank also projected that such a decline would reduce the per capita income of most countries in the world the most since 1870. Due to the epidemic, the economies of developed countries are projected to decline by 7 percent and the economies of developing countries by 2.5 percent. The World Bank estimates that the European economy will shrink by 9.1 percent as the US economy declines by 6.1 percent.
