After Sri Lanka, Other Economies to Watch for Problems
2022-07-13
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1Sri Lanka is facing its worst crisis in recent memory.
2The prime minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe,
3says the nation's efforts to set up a bailout from the International Monetary Fund have been delayed by the severity of its financial crisis.
4But Sri Lanka does not have the only economy that is in serious trouble as prices for food, fuel, and other necessities have greatly increased with the war in Ukraine.
5Countries including Afghanistan, Argentina, Egypt, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Turkey, and Zimbabwe are facing their own economic crises.
6It is estimated that about 1.6 billion people in 94 countries face a crisis involving food, energy or their financial systems.
7A report last month by the Global Crisis Response Group of the United Nations Secretary-General said about 1.2 billion people live in "perfect-storm" countries.
8That is a term meaning individuals living in those countries are at a high risk of crisis from rising costs and other long-term problems.
9Each country has its own problems.
10But they all share rising risks from inflation.
11Observers say some costs have been driven higher by Russia's war with Ukraine.
12The World Bank estimates that per capita incomes in developing countries this year will be five percent below levels before the COVID-19 pandemic.
13Economic problems are also fueling protests.
14Short-term, high interest borrowing, because of the pandemic, increased debt for countries already struggling to meet loan payments.
15The U.N. says more than half of the world's poorest countries are experiencing or risk facing debt problems.
16Here are a few of the countries facing severe economic problems:
17About two of five Argentines are poor and Argentina's central bank is running low on foreign financial holdings for international trade.
18The country's money, the peso, continues to lose value. Inflation is expected to go over 70 percent this year.
19Millions of Argentines survive because of soup kitchens and state financial support programs.
20Many of those programs are run by powerful social organizations linked to the ruling party.
21Critics say the recent agreement the country made with the IMF. to restructure $44 billion in debt could slow any recovery.
22The Lebanese people are experiencing a crisis similar to the one in Sri Lanka.
23The value of the nation's money has collapsed.
24There are shortages of necessities, high inflation, growing hunger, long lines for fuel, and a greatly weakened middle class.
25Like Sri Lanka, Lebanon suffered a long civil war and its recovery has been restricted by government disagreement and terror attacks.
26Proposed taxes in late 2019 increased anger against leaders and led to months of protests.
27The nation's money, or currency, began to sink in value and Lebanon could not pay back loans totaling nearly $90 billion at the time.
28Lebanon's debt is estimated to be 170 percent bigger than the value of all the goods and services it produces in a year, its GDP.
29By June 2021, the currency had lost nearly 90 percent of its value.
30The World Bank said the crisis was one of the worst the world has seen in more than 150 years.
31Turkey is facing difficult economic conditions as the country has a trade deficit and investment money is flowing out of the country.
32Turkey is seeing high and rising debt, inflation of over 60 percent, and high unemployment.
33The Central Bank started using foreign financial holdings to avoid a currency crisis.
34That was after the local currency, the lira, fell to all-time low values compared to the U.S. dollar and euro in late 2021.
35Tax cuts and government payments for low fuel prices have weakened government finances.
36Families are struggling to buy food and other goods.
37Turkey's foreign debt is equal to about 54 percent of its GDP.
38That level is too high to continue, considering the government's high debt.
39I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Sri Lanka is facing its worst crisis in recent memory. The prime minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, says the nation's efforts to set up a bailout from the International Monetary Fund have been delayed by the severity of its financial crisis. 2But Sri Lanka does not have the only economy that is in serious trouble as prices for food, fuel, and other necessities have greatly increased with the war in Ukraine. Countries including Afghanistan, Argentina, Egypt, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Turkey, and Zimbabwe are facing their own economic crises. 3It is estimated that about 1.6 billion people in 94 countries face a crisis involving food, energy or their financial systems. A report last month by the Global Crisis Response Group of the United Nations Secretary-General said about 1.2 billion people live in "perfect-storm" countries. That is a term meaning individuals living in those countries are at a high risk of crisis from rising costs and other long-term problems. 4Each country has its own problems. But they all share rising risks from inflation. Observers say some costs have been driven higher by Russia's war with Ukraine. The World Bank estimates that per capita incomes in developing countries this year will be five percent below levels before the COVID-19 pandemic. 5Economic problems are also fueling protests. Short-term, high interest borrowing, because of the pandemic, increased debt for countries already struggling to meet loan payments. 6The U.N. says more than half of the world's poorest countries are experiencing or risk facing debt problems. 7Here are a few of the countries facing severe economic problems: 8Argentina 9About two of five Argentines are poor and Argentina's central bank is running low on foreign financial holdings for international trade. The country's money, the peso, continues to lose value. Inflation is expected to go over 70 percent this year. 10Millions of Argentines survive because of soup kitchens and state financial support programs. Many of those programs are run by powerful social organizations linked to the ruling party. Critics say the recent agreement the country made with the IMF. to restructure $44 billion in debt could slow any recovery. 11Lebanon 12The Lebanese people are experiencing a crisis similar to the one in Sri Lanka. The value of the nation's money has collapsed. There are shortages of necessities, high inflation, growing hunger, long lines for fuel, and a greatly weakened middle class. Like Sri Lanka, Lebanon suffered a long civil war and its recovery has been restricted by government disagreement and terror attacks. 13Proposed taxes in late 2019 increased anger against leaders and led to months of protests. The nation's money, or currency, began to sink in value and Lebanon could not pay back loans totaling nearly $90 billion at the time. Lebanon's debt is estimated to be 170 percent bigger than the value of all the goods and services it produces in a year, its GDP. 14By June 2021, the currency had lost nearly 90 percent of its value. The World Bank said the crisis was one of the worst the world has seen in more than 150 years. 15Turkey 16Turkey is facing difficult economic conditions as the country has a trade deficit and investment money is flowing out of the country. Turkey is seeing high and rising debt, inflation of over 60 percent, and high unemployment. 17The Central Bank started using foreign financial holdings to avoid a currency crisis. That was after the local currency, the lira, fell to all-time low values compared to the U.S. dollar and euro in late 2021. 18Tax cuts and government payments for low fuel prices have weakened government finances. Families are struggling to buy food and other goods. 19Turkey's foreign debt is equal to about 54 percent of its GDP. That level is too high to continue, considering the government's high debt. 20I'm Gregory Stachel. 21Elaine Kurtenbach reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22_________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24bailout - n. the act of saving or rescuing something (such as a business) from money problems 25per capita - adv. by or for each person 26soup kitchen - n. a place that gives food (such as soup and bread) to poor people 27_________________________________________________________________ 28What do you think of the financial crises in these countries? 29We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 30Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.