RFI with Amanda Morrow<\/span><\/p>\n The dramatic economic shock wrought by the coronavirus has plunged countries into \u201cextraordinary uncertainty\u201d, with France among four European countries expected to suffer the worst recession in the developed world.<\/p>\n In its\u00a0latest analysis<\/a>\u00a0of global economic data, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicted a 6 percent drop in the world\u2019s GDP this year \u2013\u00a0\u201cby far the largest\u201d since the body was created 60 years ago, according to secretary-general Angel Gurr\u00eda.<\/p>\n Britain, France, Italy and Spain will suffer the most damage (in that order), with their economies expected to shrink by between 11.5 and 11.1 percent if the Covid-19 pandemic \u00ab\u00a0remains under control\u201d. A worse-case scenario in the event of a second virus wave would see those figures hit more than 14 percent.<\/p>\n The eurozone \u2013\u00a0where many countries are looking to open up their borders and welcome visitors again \u2013\u00a0is particularly vulnerable to the crisis, the report found, with its most favourable scenario seeing GDP recede by 9.1 percent.<\/p>\n Presenting the first economic projections since the Covid-19 crisis began, OECD chief economist Laurence Boone said the world would endure its deepest recession in a century \u2013\u00a0whether or not a second epidemic wave arrives.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the end of 2021, the loss of income will exceed that of all previous recessions in the past 100 years except in war, with dire and lasting consequences for populations, businesses and governments,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n The new figures lie in stark contrast with the cheerful predictions of 2.4 percent global growth the OECD made in early March, when the coronavirus had struck China but not yet reached the world\u2019s other major economies.<\/p>\n The year 2021 is, however, expected to deliver a strong rebound of 7.7 percent if the epidemic remains controlled \u2013\u00a0a figure that slides to 5.2 percent in the event the virus returns.<\/p>\n With hundreds of millions of people losing their jobs, and poor and young people being hardest hit the world over, the report said the health crisis had caused existing inequalities to widen.<\/p>\nWorst recession since Great Depression?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Crisis driving inequality<\/strong><\/h2>\n