World · Middle East · 4 hrs ago
IMF warns Middle East wars are deepening global inequality
The IMF says Middle East wars are deepening global inequality, as financial officials meet in Bangkok.
It points to conflict in the Gulf, the war on Iran and the war in Gaza, alongside Russia’s war in Ukraine and US tariffs, as sources of economic instability.
Climate change, high energy prices and rapid advances in technology are also adding pressure.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said AI could eventually change or eliminate 40 percent of jobs.
Poorer countries are more exposed because they have fewer resources to compete with richer nations for limited supplies.
Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar have had oil and gas exports interrupted, while the IMF’s global growth forecasts are 3.1 percent this year and 3.4 percent in 2027.
The fund says those figures hide a shift in growth between economies, and warns that a prolonged Middle East conflict could raise inflation and slow growth further.
The International Monetary Fund warned that wars across the Middle East are deepening global inequality.
The fund said conflict in the Gulf, the war on Iran and the war in Gaza are contributing to a growing divide between economic winners and losers.
It said poorer and developing countries are likely to be hit hardest because they have fewer resources to compete for limited supplies.
The IMF also cited climate change, high energy prices and rapid technological change, particularly artificial intelligence, as sources of instability.
The fund forecast global growth of 3.1 percent this year and 3.4 percent in 2027, while warning that these figures mask shifts in growth between economies.
- Who
- The International Monetary Fund issued the warning.
- What
- The IMF said Middle East wars are deepening global inequality and adding to economic instability.
- When
- Tuesday, 13 October 2026.
- Where
- The warning accompanied the release of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook in Bangkok.
- Why
- Conflicts, high energy prices, climate change and technological disruption are widening economic divides. Poorer countries have fewer resources to compete for limited supplies.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Global growth forecast for 2026
- 3.1 percent
- Global growth forecast for 2027
- 3.4 percent
- IMF estimate of jobs affected by AI over time
- 40 percent could be augmented, downgraded or eliminated
- Inflation forecast for 2026
- 4.7 percent
- Inflation forecast for 2027
- 4.1 percent
What people are saying
What’s happening is that every country has now suddenly figured out that energy security is national security.
A prolonged conflict in the Middle East could put additional pressures on inflation and slow down growth.
The economy has been resilient, but that resilience is reaching its limits.
Sources
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