The pandemic could bring up to 124 million people to the poverty line

According to the World Bank, extreme poverty is expected to increase as a result of the current crisis. The number of people who have reached the poverty line as a result of the coronavirus pandemic is estimated to be between 119 and 124 million. In 2020, the global debt exceeded 281 trillion US dollars. It amounted to almost $ 32,500 per capita. The Institute of Economics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences informed about it on Monday. The deepening recession following the COVID-19 pandemic last year has led most developing and least developed countries in the world economy to call for stabilization programs with international monetary financial institutions. "While in the event of the global financial crisis, a total of 23 states have requested these stabilization programs, since the beginning of the pandemic it has been more than 80 states," explained the director of the Institute of Economics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences Juraj Sipko in his analysis. As a result of the spread of COVID-19, states have begun to increase spending on health care, social support, and the business sector. This has led to a deepening of their public debt. "Despite the high public debt, it is important that individual states continue to pursue fiscal stimulus," Sipko recommends. Even in the event of a different recovery process, according to the SAS, it can be expected that some countries can reach the pre-crisis level of economic growth only in 2023 and 2024. "In the post-crisis development, it will be necessary for individual states to adopt and implement measures aimed at the sustainability of public finances," Sipko explained, adding that in the current situation he sees a historical space for the transformation of the whole society.