On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, the World Bank released the World Economic Prospects report, which forecasts a drop of -0.9% in Chile's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 and of 1.1% for Haiti.

The drop in Chile is higher than the 0.5% that the entity had estimated in a previous report, in a pessimistic scenario compared to previous reports and in line with the last Monetary Policy Report of the Central Bank, which forecast a fall in the national currency between -1.75 and -0.75%.

According to Chile's analysis, the World Bank estimates a recovery for 2024 with a 2.4% increase in activity.

In its forecast for Latin America and the Caribbean, the organization indicated that during this year, only Chile and Haiti would register contractions. In the case of Haiti, the drop would be -1.1%, marked by the deep political and social crisis that has persisted for several years.

In its global analysis, the Bank underlines "Given the fragile economic situation, any new adverse event, such as higher than expected inflation, sharp interest rate hikes to contain it, a resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic, or an escalation of geopolitical tensions, could push the global economy into recession. It would be the first time in over 80 years that two global recessions have occurred in the same decade..."

According to the context, the World Bank specifies "the world economy should grow by 1.7% in 2023 and 2.7% in 2024. The economic slowdown will be generalized, since the forecasts will be corrected downwards for 95% of the economies advanced and nearly 70% of emerging markets and developing economies."

TB/ HaitiLibre