Pakistan’s economy after an economic expansion of 4.5 per cent in 2021, is projected to grow by 3.9 per cent in 2022 “driven by private consumption, record-high remittances and fiscal support”, according to the report.

But for Sri Lanka, the WESP projected a GDP growth of 2.6 per cent for this year and said that “its major challenges include food shortages, dwindling foreign reserves and sovereign debt risks”.

Among the developed countries, the UK was projected to be the top performer with a 4.5 per cent GDP growth this year, after a 6.2 per cent estimated growth last year. The European Union’ growth was estimated at 4.7 per cent last year and projected to be 3.9 per cent this year. For the United States, the report estimated the growth at 5.5 per cent last year and projected it to be 3.5 per cent this year.

While the WESP used the calendar year calculations for the report to enable comparisons between countries, it also gave this growth picture for India on a fiscal year basis - 2020-2021: -(minus)10.6 per cent; 2021-22: 8.4 per cent; 2022-223: 6.5 per cent, and 2023-24: 5.9 per cent.