BRUSSELS – The global gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels by mid-2021, provided that countries roll out vaccines rapidly to lift the coronavirus-related restrictions and prevent further mutations of the virus, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said yesterday, reported Sputnik.
“World output is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels by mid-2021 – but much will depend on the race between vaccines and emerging variants of the virus,” the OECD said in its report.
The OECD stressed that pharmaceutical companies should boost the production and distribution of vaccines to facilitate economic recovery.
“The outlook for growth would improve (upside scenario) if the production and distribution of doses accelerate, is better co-ordinated around the world and gets ahead of virus mutations. This would allow containment measures to be relaxed more rapidly and global output to approach pre-pandemic projections for activity,” the OECD said.
The report added that the growth of the global GDP is expected to be 5.6% in 2021 – if countries manage to immunise their population in time.
According to the OECD, the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has hampered the world output by 3.4%, with Spain, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy, France, and India faced with a 7% decrease in their GDP growth. – Bernama, March 10, 2021
