World Bank

Ukraine is rated as one of the poorest countries in Europe and Central Asia when it comes to GDP per capita, according to the country’s key creditor, the World Bank.

The volume of money sent by foreign workers to their home countries reached a record-breaking $529 billion last year, and is set to become the main source of external financing for those states in 2019, the World Bank reports.

It will take Ukraine between 50 and 100 years to get to the same level of economic development as its European partners, the World Bank has revealed, as it called on Kiev to boost reforms further.

The growth of the global economy is expected to decelerate to 2.9 percent this year compared with three percent in 2018, the World Bank said in a report, citing elevated trade tensions and international trade moderation.

Russia is well-positioned to withstand external shocks, The World Bank said in its most recent version of Russia Economic Report, cited by TASS.

Despite progress in reducing extreme poverty, the number of poor worldwide is still “unacceptably high,” according to a World Bank report, which showed that billions of people still struggle to meet basic needs.