World Bank cuts Pakistan’s GDP growth forecast in half
Warning of another global recession, the World Bank on Tuesday forecast Pakistan’s economic growth to slow further to two per cent during the current year — down by two percentage points from its June 2022 estimate — because of the devastating floods and slowdown in global growth rate. The World Bank’s latest forecast also points to a “sharp, long-lasting slowdown” with global growth pegged at 1.7pc this year, compared to 3pc it predicted in June, said the bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report, a flagship publication of the World Bank Group. It said that global growth was slowing sharply in the face of elevated inflation, higher interest rates, reduced investment, and disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the report, the Washington-based lending agency said Pakistan’s economic output was not only declining itself but also bringing down the regional growth rate. It forecast Pakistan’s GDP growth rate to improve to 3.2pc in 2024, but that too would be lower than the earlier estimate of 4.2pc.