The global economy is at risk of a recession in 2023, heightened by slowing growth among the world's top nations, the World Bank warned on Tuesday.
In a press release, the World Bank said its 2023 Global Economic Prospects report had cut the estimated rate of global economic growth nearly in half, from a previous projection of 3 percent to just 1.7 percent. The Associated Press noted that if this estimate rings true, it would be "the third-weakest annual expansion in three decades, behind only the deep recessions that resulted from the 2008 global financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic in 2020."
The World Bank added that the slowing growth is expected to have a widespread effect, with forecasts down for 95 percent of advanced economies and almost 70 percent of developing economies.
The United States, China, and Europe are all expected to have a tough year in 2023, the World Bank said, though it is possible that the U.S. will just avoid a recession given its 0.5 percent estimated economic growth.
"The crisis facing development is intensifying as the global growth outlook deteriorates," World Bank Group President David Malpass said. "Emerging and developing countries are facing a multi-year period of slow growth driven by heavy debt burdens and weak investment as global capital is absorbed by advanced economies faced with extremely high government debt levels and rising interest rates."
The grim outlook from the World Bank mirrored a projection from the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, who said last week on CBS' Face the Nation, "We expect one-third of the world economy to be in recession."