London, Oct 11,2022:  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted a tough 2023 as it cut growth predictions and forecast economic contraction in a third of the world, media reports said.

“The worst is yet to come”, the global financial institution’s World Economic Outlook report said, Sky News reported.

“For many people, 2023 will feel like a recession”, it said.

A downward revision of the global growth rate for 2023, from the amount the IMF said it expected in July, has been made in the report, Sky News reported.

Now, 2.7 per cent growth is expected next year. It’s down from the 6 per cent growth experienced last year and the 3.2 per cent growth forecast for this year.

This is the “weakest growth profile” since 2001, excluding the acute phase of Covid-19 pandemic and the global financial crisis, the IMF said, Sky News reported.

It reflects “significant slowdowns” for the largest economies as America’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted in the first half of 2022, followed by the Euro area’s contraction in the second half of 2022, and prolonged Covid-19 outbreaks and lockdowns in China with a growing property sector crisis.

“The world is in a volatile period: economic, geopolitical, and ecological changes all impact the global outlook,” the report says. About a third of the world economy faces two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the IMF also forecast, Sky News reported.