IMF Predicts 3% Contraction in 2020 Global Economy, Worse than 08-09 Recession, then 5.8% Growth Recovery in 2021

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund is projecting the global economy to contract by –3 percent in 2020. However, assuming “that the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020” the IMF is also projecting global economy to recover and grow by 5.8 percent in 2021. Global contraction during the 2008–09 financial crisis was -0.6 percent. Global growth for 2019 was 2.9%, preceded by 3.8% in 2018.

The IMF report did emphasize “extreme uncertainty” around their forecast, adding that the anticipated economic fallout “depends on factors… that are hard to predict”.