The United Nations released the World Economic Situation and Prospect report on Thursday (January 8).
U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Navid Hanif along with other U.N. officials had a briefing on the report at U.N. headquarters in New York.
“We project economic growth to stabilize at 2.7% this year, compared to 2.8% in 2025,” said Hanif.
Global economic growth is forecast to decline to 2.7% in 2026 from 2.8% last year before increasing to 2.9% in 2027 – still down from the pre-pandemic average of 3.2% between 2010 and 2019.
The report said that while a sharp increase in U.S. tariffs in 2025 created new trade tensions, the absence of broader escalation has helped limit disruptions to international commerce.
The report said economic growth in the United States slowed to 1.9% in 2025 – from 2.8% in 2024 – and was forecast to edge up to 2.0% in 2026 and 2.2% in 2027, aided by expansionary fiscal and monetary policies. It said inflation would likely remain above the 2% target in 2026, “though it should gradually moderate as tariff effects wane and housing costs stabilize.”
In China, the economy was projected to grow by 4.6% in 2026 and 4.5% in 2027, down from an estimated 4.9% expansion in 2025.
Growth in the European Union was forecast at 1.3% in 2026 and 1.6% in 2027 – compared with 1.5% in 2025 – driven by resilient consumer spending. But higher U.S. tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty are likely to weigh on exports, the report said.
It said growth in South Asia was due to moderate to 5.6% in 2026, from 5.9% in 2025. It was forecast to return to 5.9% in 2027.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
