The US-driven global trade war will depress growth in almost two-thirds of developing economies this year, according to World Bank forecasts, as the lender warned the globalisation that drove an “economic miracle” in many countries had swung into reverse.

Emerging and developing countries will see 3.8 per cent growth this year — down from 4.2 per cent in 2024, according to the World Bank’s latest economic outlook, pushing the pace of expansion more than a percentage point below the average rate in the 2010s.  

Per capita income growth will be 2.9 per cent in developing countries this year, also more than a percentage point below the average between 2000 and 2019. Overall global growth will be the slowest since 2008, excluding recessions, according to the forecasts.