New Delhi, June 13 -- The World Bank has warned that the 2020s risk becoming a "lost decade" for many developing economies, as weak growth, rising debt, slowing investment and repeated global shocks leave countries struggling to narrow the income gap with richer nations.

In its June 2026 edition of the 'Global Economic Prospects' report, the World Bank painted a bleak picture of development progress since the COVID-19 pandemic, saying many poorer nations remain far behind where they were expected to be before the crisis.

World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill said, "The 2020s will prove to be what their ominous opening foreshadowed: a lost decade--not just for a couple of outliers, but for dozens of developing economies."

The report ...