Global economy will return to pre-Covid level by 2022, says OECD

Raises world GDP growth forecast to 5.8%

A strengthening world recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic risks leaving behind many regions, fuelling inequalities across and within borders, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday.
 
As the Paris-based group revised up its 2021 global growth forecast to 5.8 per cent from 5.6 per cent, it warned of gaping differences that mean living standards for some people won’t return to pre-crisis levels for an extended period.
 
In countries including Argentina and Spain, more than three years will elapse between the onset of the pandemic and a recovery of per-capita economic output, according to the new projections. That compares to just 18 months in the US and under a year in China.
 
“It is with some relief that we can see the economic outlook brightening, but with some discomfort that it is doing so in a very uneven way,” OECD Chief Economist Laurence Boone said. “The risk that sufficient post-pandemic growth is not achieved or widely shared is elevated.”