According to the World Bank Group’s Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report released on Jan. 13, global economic growth is expected to pick up this year.

Based on the data from the report, the global economy grew by 2.6 percent in 2014 and will expand by 3 percent this year, 3.3 percent in 2016 and 3.2 percent in 2017.
 

Developing countries grew by an average of 4.4 percent in 2014 and are expected to reach 4.8 percent in 2015. It is predicted that they will grow by 5.3 and 5.4 percent in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
 

“In this uncertain economic environment, developing countries need to judiciously deploy their resources to support social programs with a laser-like focus on the poor and undertake structural reforms that invest in people,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “It’s also critical for countries to remove any unnecessary roadblocks for private sector investment. The private sector is by far the greatest source of jobs, and that can lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.”
 

The fragile global economy is still at risk of downward trends.  Global trade may continue to falter as trade flows are likely to remain weak in 2015. Also, instability may occur in financial markets as interest rates in major economies rise on varying timelines.
 

Furthermore, low oil prices may strain balance sheets in oil-producing countries and the risk of a prolonged period of stagnation or deflation in the euro area or Japan could have an adverse impact. Such trends will exert great influence on global recovery in 2015.