World Bank estimates as many as 100 million people may fall into poverty due to the coronavirus pandemic

In April, the World Bank estimated the coronavirus pandemic would push somewhere between 40 million and 60 million people into poverty worldwide. On Monday, that figure increased to between 70 million and 100 million, The Financial Times reports. The bank also now anticipates the global economy will shrink by 5.2 percent, up from its three percent prediction in April.

"This is a deeply sobering outlook, with the crisis likely to leave long-lasting scars and pose major global challenges," said Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, World Bank Group's vice president for equitable growth, finance, and institutions.

Emerging and developing economies, including Russia, Brazil, and India, are expected to shrink for the first time in 60 years, with a 2.5 percent contraction in emerging markets' GDP, and a 3.6 percent decrease in global income per capita. The World Bank expects nations in Latin America and the Caribbean to suffer the hardest blow, forecasting that the region will experience a 7.2 percent GDP decline.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Even regions that could see an expansion, like East Asia and Pacific, would have their smallest economic growth since 1967, per the bank. Read more at The Financial Times.