The United Nations (UN) projects global GDP growth to slow from an estimated 2.7 per cent in 2023 to 2.4 per cent in 2024. Growth is forecast to improve moderately to 2.7 per cent in 2025 but will remain below the pre-pandemic trend growth rate of 3.0 per cent.

UN foresees this year a further slowdown in developed economies, divergent near-term growth prospects in developing nations, an uneven global labour market recovery, weak global investment trends and international trade losing steam as a growth driver, the world body said in its latest ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects’ report.

GDP growth is expected to decrease from an estimated 2.5 per cent in 2023 to 1.4 per cent this year in the United States; expand by 1.2 per cent this year from 0.5 per cent last year in the European Union (EU); decelerate from 1.7 per cent last year to 1.2 per cent this year in Japan; and nudge down moderately to 4.7 per cent this year in China, the report says.

Growth is projected to rise from an average of 3.3 per cent last year to 3.5 per cent in 2024 in Africa; decline from 4.9 per cent last year to 4.6 per cent this year in East Asia; and moderately fall from an estimated 5.3 per cent last year to 5.2 per cent this year in South Asia, driven by a robust expansion in India, which remains the fastest-growing large economy in the world, it noted.

Growth in India is projected to reach 6.2 per cent this year, slightly lower than the 6.3 per cent estimate for last year amid robust domestic demand and strong growth in the manufacturing and services sectors, the UN report says.

In West Asia, GDP is forecast to grow by 2.9 per cent this year from 1.7 per cent last year. The outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean remains challenging, with GDP growth expected to slow from 2.2 per cent last year to 1.6 per cent in 2024.

The least developed countries (LDCs) are projected to grow by 5 per cent this year, up from 4.4 per cent in 2023 but still well below the 7.0 per cent growth target set in the US Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it notes.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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