World faces worst economic fallout since Great Depression: IMF

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. (Reuters Photo)

The global coronavirus pandemic is causing an economic crisis unlike any in the past century and will require a massive response to help in the recovery, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday.

She warned that "global growth will turn sharply negative in 2020," with 170 of the International Monetary Fund's 180 members experiencing a decline in per capita income.

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"In fact, we anticipate the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression."

Even in the best case, the IMF expects only a "partial recovery" next year, and she urged governments to provide "lifelines" for businesses and households to "avoid scarring of the economy that would make the recovery so much more difficult."