The COVID-19 pandemic has sunk the global economy into the deepest recession in eight decades. In the emerging and developing countries of Europe and Central Asia, GDP is expected to contract 4.4 percent in 2020.

Regional output collapsed in the first half of 2020, as growing domestic outbreaks and pandemic-related restrictions caused domestic demand to plummet, exacerbated supply disruptions, and halted manufacturing and services activity. The sharp decline in remittance inflows — which account for about 10 percent of GDP in the region, excluding the Russian Federation and Turkey — contributed to the slide in retail sales.