This despite the upturn, by the end of this year, global output will be about 2% lower than projected before the pandemic.

By 2022, per capita income losses will not be reversed for about two-thirds of emerging market and developing economies. Among low-income economies, where vaccination has been delayed, the effects of the pandemic have reversed gains in poverty reduction, and exacerbated insecurity and other long-standing problems.

Among major economies, growth in the United States is projected to reach 6.8% this year as a result of large-scale fiscal support and easing of pandemic-related restrictions. In other advanced economies, growth is also strong but slower.

Among emerging markets and developing economies, China is forecast to rebound 8.5% this year on the back of pent-up demand.

The report highlights the anticipation that emerging markets and developing economies, as a whole, will expand by 6% this year, driven by stronger demand, and high commodity prices.

Growth in low-income economies this year is also expected to be the slowest in 20 years, except for 2020, reflecting, in part, the very slow pace of vaccination. Low-income economies are further anticipated to expand by 2.9% in 2021, before rebounding to 4.7% in 2022. The group's output level in 2022 is projected to be 4.9% lower compared to what was projected before the pandemic.

"As developing economies recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, lower trade costs may create an enabling environment to re-engage in global supply chains and restart trade growth", Indermit Gill, vice president of Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions at the World Bank Group.