📉 Remittances projected to fall by 20%

PLUS: COVID-19 shakes commodity markets. [Having trouble seeing this email?]( [A woman passes by a money transfer office. Photo: © IFC](  [World Bank predicts sharpest decline of remittances in recent history]( Global remittances are projected to decline sharply by about 20 percent in 2020 due to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown. The projected fall is largely due to a fall in the wages and employment of migrant workers, who tend to be more vulnerable to loss of employment during an economic crisis in a host country. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [A Production operator at an offshore oil and gas processing platform. Photo: Shutterstock](  [COVID-19 shakes commodity markets]( Oil prices have plunged, and demand is expected to fall by an unprecedented amount in 2020, according to our Commodity Markets Outlook. Learn how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted both demand for and supply of commodities. [Facebook]( [Twitter](  --------------------------------------------------------------- Our Latest on COVID-19 (coronavirus) --------------------------------------------------------------- Poverty and COVID-19: We estimate that the pandemic could push about 49 million people into extreme poverty in 2020. [Here’s what we can do about it](. Gender equality: The COVID-19 crisis has revealed the burden of care work women carry. The pandemic is likely to increase the unequal distribution of care work [between men and women within households](. Greener Earth: Could transport emissions [accelerate even further]( the COVID-19 pandemic? To avoid this scenario, the World Bank can help client countries develop cleaner transport systems that will support economic recovery and improve people's lives. A hush across the world: Recent reports show that the slowdown in human activities due to COVID-19 pandemic is actually improving air quality in many places on our planet. [This is an opportunity]( for planet reboot. An inequity in education: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted learning for more than 1.5 billion children and youth. [Those who were marginalized before the pandemic, are now even more at risk.](. Staying connected: Balloons—or floating cell sites that hover about 60,000 feet above ground—are [equipped to offer 4G connectivity to about 25 million Kenyans who lack coverage.]( Hygiene in the DRC: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is Africa’s most water-rich country, yet [many of its people lack safe access.]( World Bank is providing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services there as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Go deeper: Learn how the World Bank Group[is responding to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic](. Explore our multilingual portal. Click, bookmark and come back for updates. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Virtual Events ---------------------------------------------------------------  [© IFC]( [How can we keep remittances flowing during COVID-19?]( How is coronavirus affecting migrants and the remittances they send to their home countries? The World Bank's lead economist on Migration and Remittances, Dilip Ratha, explained this and the vital link to poverty reduction. Replay the interview. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Social Media --------------------------------------------------------------- [A locust plague during #COVID19 threatens to send some 23 countries deeper into crisis. Blog by Holger Kray & Shobha Shetty]( [The Impact of Coronavirus on Global Food Security: What can we do to help the poorest and most vulnerable access the food they need during #Coronavirus? The World Bank’s Vice President for Sustainable Development has some ideas.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Data Chart --------------------------------------------------------------- [Remittances ]( In 2020, remittance flows to lower- and middle-income countries are expected to decline by around 20%, marking the sharpest decline in recent history. This is not so much due to a decline in the stock of international migrants, but largely due to a fall in wages and the employment of migrant workers in host nations due to COVID‐19. The decline in remittance flows is expected to be sharpest in Europe and Central Asia, South Asia, and Sub‐Saharan Africa.[More Data (PDF)>>](  [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [instagram]( [instagram]( Accredited journalists may obtain advance access to reports and information by registering with the Bank's [Online Media Briefing Center]( a password-protected site for working journalists. Material in this newsletter is copyrighted. Requests to reproduce it, in whole or in part, should be addressed to pubrights@worldbank.org For more information visit our website: [worldbank.org](. [Access to Information]( [Other Bank Newsletters]( | [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe from this list]( | [Update subscription preferences](