As the world continues to face a truly unprecedented crisis, global lockdown measures to control the spread of COVID-19 have paralysed economies and unsettled societies. Widespread business closures, social distancing restrictions and isolation have caused significant disruption.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reassessed prospects for global growth in 2020 and 2021, declaring that we have entered a recession as bad or worse than that of the 2008 global financial crisis.
The IMF expects the global economy to contract sharply by 3% in 2020 – much worse than during the financial crisis of 2008. The Euro Area is expected to report significantly weaker growth, with output falling by 7.1% in 2020, while advanced economies are predicted to suffer a 6.1% fall before bouncing back in 2021.