On January 9 local time, the United Nations released the 2025 World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report. The report predicts that the global economic growth rate will remain at 2.8% in 2025, the same as in 2024. Despite showing strong resilience and withstanding a series of overlapping shocks, the growth level remains below the pre-pandemic average of 3.2%, primarily constrained by weak investment, sluggish productivity growth, and high debt levels. The report points out that declining inflation and the continued monetary easing policies in many economies may provide a modest boost to global economic activity in 2025. However, uncertainty still looms, including geopolitical conflicts, escalating trade tensions, and persistently high borrowing costs in many regions. These challenges are particularly severe for low-income and vulnerable countries, where growth performance is lackluster and fragile, threatening progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
