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Jun 2, 2021

Lebanon crisis world’s worst since 1850s: World Bank

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FA Correspondent
The Lebanese pound has been pegged at its current level against the US dollar for more than two decades. Shutterstock
The Lebanese pound has been pegged at its current level against the US dollar for more than two decades. Shutterstock

The World Bank (WB) has said Lebanon’s economic collapse is likely to rank among the world’s worst financial crises since the mid-19th century.

“Lebanon’s economy is likely to shrink by 10 per cent,” stated in a report made public by the WB on Tuesday, whose (Lebanon) currency devalued by 85 per cent and poverty rate is unbearable.

Once seen as a beacon of prosperity in the Gulf region, today Lebanon’s economy is melting down and has been listed as a devastating country because of civil war, huge corruption and mismanagement by the country’s hereditary political elite.

“The increasingly dire socio-economic conditions risk systemic national failings with regional and potentially global effects dashing any hopes of a quick recovery,” the World Bank said.

The International Monetary Fund has offered assistance but the country’s political barons have failed to manage it.

Lebanon is a country in Western Asia bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lies just west of it across the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon’s relatively small economy is based mainly on services concentrated in the coastal cities.

Lebanon is classified as an upper middle income country. The current Human Development Index (HDI) categorizes the country at 76 out of 188 countries and territories.

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