The global economy faces a year of subdued growth prospects and uncertainty stemming from geopolitical tensions, tight financing conditions and the disruptive impact of artificial intelligencefound a survey of leading economists released today.

This research between above by 60 leading economists who are selected from around the world by the private and public sectors, is held each year before the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. It is an attempt to outline priorities for political and business leaders.

Some 56% of respondents expect overall global economic conditions to weaken this year, with a high degree of regional variation. While the majority see moderate or stronger growth in China and the United Statesthere is broad consensus that Europe will have only weak or very weak growth.

The image for South Africa and the East Asia and the Pacific is more positive, with a very large majority expecting at least moderate growth for these regions in 2024.

Echoing comments from the world’s top central banks that interest rates have peaked, 70% of respondents expect financing conditions to ease as inflation eases and the current tightening in labor markets eases.

AI is seen as leaving an uneven mark on the global economy: while 94% expect AI to significantly boost productivity in high-income economies over the next five years, only 53% predict the same for low-income economies.

The World Economic Forum also released a study on the “quality” of economic development in 107 economies, which concludes that most countries are developing in ways that are neither environmentally sustainable nor socially inclusive.

“Reviving global growth will be essential to addressing significant challenges, however growth alone is not enough,” says Saadia Zahidi, CEO of the World Economic Forum.

The WEF has announced that it is launching a campaign to define a new approach to development and help policymakers balance it with social, environmental and other priorities.