Silk Road countries lead World Bank 3-year growth rankings

[visualizer id=”23457″]The Silk Road countries of India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, Iran and Indonesia are set to become the world’s fastest-growing economies over the next three years, according to the latest forecasts from the World Bank, in stark contrast to its downbeat prediction for the world as a whole and  Brazil and Russia in particular, both of whom are expected to contract in 2016 before enjoying only modest growth thereafter. 
According to the bank’s Global Economic Perspectives report published on Wednesday, the reduction in India’s external vulnerabilities, its strengthening domestic business cycle and its supportive regulatory and policy environment make it  “well positioned to withstand near-term headwinds and volatility in global financial markets” compared with other major emerging economies and put it on course to achieve an annual growth rate of  7.9% by 2018.
If the World Bank’s forecasts prove to be correct, this would make it the fastest-growing developing-country economy in the world just ahead of  Bangladesh (6.8%) and China (6.5%), but far and away above the world average (3.1%), the US (2.4%), and the Euro area (1.7%).
The prospects for India’s fellow BRICS countries are even bleaker, with the economies of Russia and Brazil expected to contract by 0.7% and 2.5% next year respectively, and South Africa forecast only to grow by 1.4%.
The lifting of sanctions and a subsequent rapid increase in oil production and, potentially, capital inflows should also see Iran’s economy grow by 5.8% next year and enable it to sustain a similar level of growth over the next three years, the bank predicts, nearly triple what it achieved last year.
.