International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva on Sunday said that this year will see a third of the world's countries in recession, and warned that 2023 will be "tougher" than last year due to the slowing of the economies of the US, EU, and China.

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These grim assertions were made by Georgieva on "Face the Nation," a CBS news programme.

2023 IMF PREDICTION: “We expect one-third of the world economy to be in recession,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva tells @margbrennan. But, a strong U.S. labor market might help the world get through a difficult year, she says. pic.twitter.com/Vbhj478pFo

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 1, 2023

It comes at a time when the protracted conflict in Ukraine, which has lasted more than ten months, shows no signs of ending, and when the world economy is being burdened by spiralling inflation, increased interest rates, and a rise in coronavirus infections in China caused by the Omicron strain.

"We expect one-third of the world economy to be in recession," Georgieva said on the news programme.

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According to her, the US, EU, and Chinese economies will all have slower growth in 2023, making it more challenging than last year.

"Even in countries that are not in recession, it would feel like a recession for hundreds of millions of people," she explained.

The IMF revised its 2023 growth projection downward in October of last year.

"Global growth is forecast to slow from 6 percent in 2021 to 3.2 percent in 2022 and 2.7 percent in 2023. This is the weakest growth profile since 2001 except for the global financial crisis and the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic," it said.

Following a surge of anti-government rallies in the nation, China has abandoned its Zero-Covid policy and opened its economy.

Also read: Unemployment in India rises to 16-month high in December 2022

"For the next couple of months, it would be tough for China, and the impact on Chinese growth would be negative, the impact on the region will be negative, the impact on global growth will be negative," she added.

First Published:Jan 2, 2023 4:17 PM IST