Global economy heading for weakest growth since 1990, says IMF boss

Kristalina Georgieva says slowdown last year after Covid pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine could persist for five years

The global economy is heading for the weakest period of growth since 1990 as higher interest rates set by the world's top central banks drive up borrowing costs for households and businesses, the head of the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF's managing director, said a sharp slowdown in the world economy last year after the aftershocks of the Covid pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine would continue in 2023, and risked persisting for the next five years.