The International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgiva said that India and China are expected to account for half of the global growth in 2023. She added that the world economy is expected to grow at lower than 3% this year.

"Some momentum comes from emerging economies Asia especially is a bright spot. India and China are expected to account for half of the global growth in 2023. But others face a steeper climb," Georgieva told the news agency PTI.

The period of slower economic activity will be prolonged, with the next five years witnessing less than 3% growth, “our lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990, and well below the average of 3.8% from the past two decades," she said.

But low-income nations are hamstrung by weakening demand for their exports, with their per-capita income growth remaining below that of the emerging economies. Poverty and hunger that increased during the coronavirus pandemic could climb.

She also stated that growth rates in around 90% of advanced economies are expected to fall in 2023.

"Poverty and hunger could further increase, a dangerous trend that was started by the COVID crisis," she explained.

Her comments come ahead of next week's spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, where policy-makers will convene to discuss the global economy's most pressing issues.

The annual gathering will take place as central banks around the world continue to raise interest rates to tame galloping inflation rates.