Wednesday, February 02, 2022

Myanmar's Economy Slumps

 Myanmar's annual employment losses in 2021 amounted to an estimated 8%, or 1.6 million jobs lost, indicating a sizable decrease from employment of 20.5 million in 2020, the International Labor Organization (ILO) stated in its January 2022 report. The estimates cover the whole labor force of Myanmar, including formal and informal economy workers. The country's construction, garment, tourism and hospitality industries were among the hardest hit, according to the report, as were rural farmers.

25 million people (almost half Myanmar's population) were living in poverty by the end of 2021, and 14.4 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance, the ILO reported. The number of people living in poverty in Myanmar is expected to have more than doubled from before the pandemic, according to the World Bank.

The World Bank, meanwhile, said in its January report that Myanmar's economy is about 30% smaller than it might have been in the absence of the pandemic and the military coup. International sanctions, a halt in foreign aid and the withdrawal of foreign investors have all pushed Myanmar to the brink of economic collapse.  Businesses all over Myanmar are facing bankruptcy.

Myanmar on brink of economic collapse one year after military coup | Asia | An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 01.02.2022


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