Worldwide recovery from 2001 economic downturn to be slow, UN reports

Worldwide recovery from last year's economic downturn, aggravated by the 11 September terrorist attacks against the United States, will take place slowly over the coming year, according to a new United Nations report.

The global economy is estimated to expand slightly more, by 1.5 per cent, than it did last year, according to the "World Economic Situation and Prospects for 2002." In 2001, worldwide growth was at its lowest in a decade, at only 1.3 per cent.

The report, prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), was a supplement to the annual "World Economic and Social Survey" published in July each year, a senior UN official told a press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

The Survey was updated in light of the changing international economic situation, which saw the slowdown extremely widespread, said Ian Kinniburgh, Director of DESA's Development Policy Analysis Division. In 2001, a great majority of countries grew much more slowly than in 2000 and some dozen large economies in the world were in what was technically called a recession.

The recovery was expected to start in the United States and gradually spread around the world, Mr. Kinniburgh noted, adding that the main supporting factors for the recovery were the economic stimulus measures, the relaxation of monetary policy and declines in interest rates.