According to Reuters news, poverty in Myanmar has reached its highest level in the past six years, with the World Bank predicting economic growth to stagnate at just 1 percent this fiscal year in the conflict-ridden country.


On Wednesday, the World Bank reported that escalating violence, labor shortages, and currency devaluation have created challenging conditions for conducting business in the country.

Since the military coup of 2021, Myanmar, a Southeast Asian country, has faced economic challenges. The World Bank projected in December that the country's economic growth for this fiscal year would be around 2 percent, following a 1 percent GDP growth estimate for the previous fiscal year ending in March 2024.

The downward revision for the 2024/25 fiscal year is primarily attributed to persistent high inflation, shortages in labor, foreign exchange, and electricity, according to the bank's June report. These factors are expected to have a more significant impact on economic activity than previously anticipated. Myanmar did not provide a comment on the World Bank report.

Myanmar is grappling with the pressures of a civil war, as multiple new armed groups and ethnic minority armies challenge the junta forces across the country. Over 3 million people have been displaced due to conflicts in various regions. Consequently, the country's poverty rate has surged back to its 2015 level of 32.1 percent, as reported by the World Bank.

The bank noted, "The depth and severity of poverty worsened in 2023-24, marking a more entrenched poverty situation than in the past six years." It announced plans to recruit additional personnel to address these challenges.

According to the World Bank, many individuals have relocated from urban to rural areas or have emigrated since the announcement, leading to increasing reports of labor shortages in the industrial sector. Additionally, Myanmar's junta has lost control of crucial land borders with neighboring China and Thailand, resulting in a significant decline in cross-border trade. Moreover, the country's visible economy is showing signs of weakening due to inflation and foreign exchange shortages, as highlighted by the World Bank.