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A World Bank report showed that “if 2022 was a year full of uncertainty, then 2023 is the year of inequality,” noting that “for countries hoping to recover from the devastating losses of the Corona pandemic, the battle has become more difficult, due to the worsening threats of... Climate change, fragility, conflict and violence, or food insecurity, which make it difficult for economies across the board to fully recover.”
The report, titled 2023 in 9 Infographics: Rising Inequality, explained: “As is the case in most crises, the world’s poorest countries are the most affected, and many of these countries, already suffering from critical indebtedness, find themselves suffering greater pressure to obtain income.” On resources, temporary online freelance work is a vital aspect of the labor market and a source of income, but only for those who can obtain it. And let us not forget today’s refugee crisis. Improving immigration policies not only helps to alleviate the crisis, but can also help strengthen Economic growth and prosperity.
The report stated that these multiple crises have made development work more complex. The way the Bank addresses and manages new and existing threats is more important than ever.
He stressed that "the annual meetings of the Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund for 2023 were a turning point for the Bank Group in particular, as its President Ajay Banga unveiled a new mission and vision for the organization: creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet."
In the Bank’s view of the performance of the year 2023, it touched on five main issues:
1. Poverty conditions
. Despite the decline in extreme poverty in middle-income countries, poverty in the poorest countries and countries affected by situations of fragility, conflict, or violence is still worse than it was before. The pandemic. The persistence of poverty in these countries makes it more difficult to achieve other major global development goals.
According to the bank, there are about 700 million people around the world who live in extreme poverty, that is, less than $2.15 a day.
He added: Although we have come a long way in the field of reducing global poverty, those gains that were achieved after enduring strenuous efforts faced a major setback with the Corona epidemic, which not only brought with it loss of life, but also brought with it shocks and crises that led to... We lost about three years of progress in the field of poverty reduction. This means that we lost three years in the fight against poverty.
He noted that since 2019, the number of people living on less than $6.85 per person per day has increased slightly.
2 - Debts
Regarding international debts, the bank’s annual report highlighted that developing countries spent a record amount of $443.5 billion to service their government-guaranteed external public debt in 2022. The
poorest countries eligible to borrow from the World Bank’s International Development Association paid a record amount of $88.9 billion. This figure represents debt servicing costs in 2022, an increase of 4.8 percent from 2021.
The world's poorest countries face the risk of debt crises as borrowing costs rise. The increase in costs has diverted scarce resources away from meeting vital needs in sectors such as health, education and the environment.
3 - Economic Prospects
The bank indicated that the January 2023 edition of the Global Economic Prospects report showed that global growth is slowing sharply in the face of high inflation rates, rising interest rates, declining investments, and unrest resulting from the war in Ukraine.
The global economy was expected to grow by 1.7 percent in 2023 and 2.7 percent in 2024, with a sharp decline in growth widely expected. The forecasts were revised down to about 95 percent of advanced economies and about 70 percent of emerging market and developing economies.
With the dawn of the new year, the world stands halfway through ten very important years to achieve the desired development. The World Bank's upcoming "Global Economic Prospects" report, which will be released on January 9, will give an important glimpse into the challenges surrounding the future.
The economic prospects for developing economies are bleak in 2023. The first four years of the 2020s have proven to be among the weakest growth years in 30 years.
4 - Declining long-term growth prospects.
The report issued in March 2023, entitled “Deteriorating Long-Term Growth Prospects: Trends, Expectations, and Policies,” expected that the maximum long-term growth rate of the global economy would decline, without increasing inflation rates, to its lowest level in 30 years. During the remainder of the 2020s.
This is because most of the forces that have boosted prosperity since the early 1990s have weakened, including a growing working-age population.
5 - Climate
The Bank stressed that climate change has negative impacts on humans and the economy, and may force 216 million people to migrate within their countries by 2050. It could lead to increased rates of water stress, as well as a decrease in crop yields, especially in the regions of the world that suffer most from climate change. Food insecurity. Agri-food systems are also responsible for a third of all emissions. Expanding the use of renewables and energy efficiency, and investing in large-scale electricity delivery, while avoiding building new coal plants and decommissioning old ones, is critical to providing clean energy to power homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses.
According to the Bank, reducing emissions and increasing resilience and adaptation is possible, but will require massive social, economic and technological changes. Just this same month, during the 28th Climate Conference in Dubai (COP28), the World Bank announced bold actions to increase climate financing, expand debt conditions for resilience, strengthen efforts on carbon markets, and “reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Methane significantly" and many other measures.
“In a world where the poorest people face the brunt of shocks, climate change is also part of these shocks and is no different from them.
High-income countries constitute 16 percent of the world’s population, but they produce 31 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. In terms of total emissions, China topped the list by producing 26.4 percent (18 percent of the world’s population), followed by the United States of America with 12.5 percent (which includes 4 percent of the world’s population). the world), India by 7.1 percent (which includes 18 percent of the world’s population), and the European Union by 7 percent (6 percent of the world’s population). According to the World Bank.
6 - Commodity Markets
According to the latest edition of the Commodity Market Outlook Bulletin, the escalation of the current conflict in the Middle East, in addition to the unrest resulting from the Russian war in Ukraine, could push global commodity markets into a state of uncertainty.
Global commodity prices fell by about 25 percent in 2023, compared to 2022, the largest decline since the outbreak of the pandemic. The outbreak of conflict in the Middle East in early October led to an initial rise in prices, although its impact has been minimal so far. Most commodity prices remain above their 2015-2019 average.
The bank expects oil prices to average $90 per barrel in the current quarter, before falling to $81 next year as global economic growth slows.
The bank expected that the prices of primary commodities in general would decline by 4.1 percent in 2024. The World Bank’s estimates also indicated a decline in the prices of agricultural commodities next year with an increase in supplies, and the prices of basic metals are expected to decline by 5 percent next year. The World Bank also expected that commodity prices would stabilize in 2025.
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