World Bank projects Russian economy to shrink by 6% in 2020 due to COVID-19 stress

World Bank has predicted that Russia’s economy is likely to shrink by almost 6 percent in 2020. According to reports, this will be the most that the country's economy has shrunk since 2009.

The possible shrinking of the Russian economy is being seen as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the countless measures undertaken to help curb the spread of the virus. The World Bank also projects that the country’s economy will return to normal levels of growth in 2012-22 after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided.

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Russian economy in jeopardy

The COVID-19 health crisis has caused businesses in Russia to slow down production. The lockdown imposed in several countries across the globe due to the virus has also negatively affected the prices of oil, which is Russia’s main export.

The health crisis has also caused the unemployment rate in Russia to rise drastically. The country’s GDP is also expected to contract at a pace not seen for the prior 11 years.

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However, the World Bank reports also predict the Russian economy to rise 2.7 percent in the year 2021 and 3.1 percent in 2022. The World Bank report added that as long as Russia is able to successfully overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and does not experience a second wave, the economy could begin the road to recovery in the second half of 2020.

COVID-19 has infected over 11,579,000 people around the globe and the worldwide death toll stands at 536,814. Russia has reported 686,777 positive cases of COVID-19 infection to date and is the fourth most affected country in the world. The country has recorded a death toll of 10,271.

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(Image Credit: AP File)