The global growth rate for this year would remain at 6%; IMF chief

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Managing Director (MD) and Chairwoman, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva has stated that the IMF estimates that global growth will be at 6 percent in 2021, but with some countries growing faster and others slower.

Ms. Georgieva made these remarks during an online event sponsored by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). The IMF chief commented that the economic recovery would be hampered if the pace of COVID-19 vaccination did not increase, adding that the goal of ending the pandemic by the end of 2022 would not be achieved at current rates.

“The IMF’s projected global growth rate for this year would remain at 6 percent. It is 6 percent in July, but between April and July, the composition of this 6 percent has changed. Some countries are now projected to grow faster, some countries are now projected to grow slower. What is the difference? It is primarily the speed and effectiveness of vaccinations and the availability of fiscal space to act. The IMF-World Bank goal for countries to provide $50 billion to step up COVID vaccination rates will likely require more than the 11 billion doses initially envisioned, because booster shots may now be necessary, and to cover vaccine losses in some developing countries that lack sufficient cold storage facilities.”

The IMF predicted in April that global GDP will exceed 6 percent in 2021, as vaccine availability improves and economies recover, with the support of enormous fiscal stimulus. The lack of vaccination access in developing nations, as well as the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta form, is threatening to the recovery’s momentum, Ms. Georgieva further added.

Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remarked that the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic to the global economy in lost output over the 2020-24 decade relative to pre-pandemic forecasts is $15 trillion, and it would have been three times worse if governments had not moved quickly.

Related: IMF approves $650bn expansion to combat COVID-19 pandemic