WASHINGTON

The World Bank cut its forecast for global growth this year, as an improving US economy and low fuel prices fail to offset disappointing results from Europe to China.

The world economy will expand 3 percent in 2015, down from a projection of 3.4 percent in June, according to the lender's semiannual Global Economic Prospects report, released today in Washington.

Following another disappointing year in 2014, developing countries should see an uptick in growth this year, boosted in part by soft oil prices, a stronger US economy, continued low global interest rates, and receding domestic headwinds in several large emerging markets, says the World Bank report.

After growing by an estimated 2.6 percent in 2014, the global economy is projected to expand by 3 percent this year, 3.3 percent in 2016 and 3.2 percent in 2017, predicts the Bank's twice-yearly flagship. Developing countries grew by 4.4 percent in 2014 and are expected to edge up to 4.8 percent in 2015, strengthening to 5.3 and 5.4 percent in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

"In this uncertain economic environment, developing countries need to judiciously deploy their resources to support social programs with a laser-like focus on the poor and undertake structural reforms that invest in people," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.

"It's also critical for countries to remove any unnecessary roadblocks for private sector investment. The private sector is by far the greatest source of jobs and that can lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty."

The East Asia and Pacific region continued its gradual adjustment to slower but more balanced growth. Regional growth slipped to 6.9 percent in 2014 as a result of policy tightening and political tensions that offset a rise in exports in line with the ongoing recovery in some highincome economies. Growth in developing Europe and Central Asia is estimated to have slowed to a lower-than-expected 2.4 percent in 2014 as a sputtering recovery in the Euro Area and stagnation in Russia posed headwinds. In contrast, growth in Turkey exceeded expectations despite slowing to 3.1 percent. Regional growth is expected to rebound to 3 percent in 2015, 3.6 percent in 2016 and 4 percent in 2017 but with considerable divergence.

Following years of turmoil, some economies in the Middle East and North Africa appear to be stabilizing, although growth remains fragile and uneven. Growth in oilimporting countries was broadly flat in 2014, while activity in oil-exporting countries recovered slightly after contracting in 2013. In South Asia, growth rose to an estimated 5.5 percent in 2014 from a 10-year low of 4.9 percent in 2013. The upturn was driven by India, the region's largest economy, which emerged from two years of modest growth. Regional growth is projected to rise to 6.8 percent by 2017, as reforms ease supply constraints in India, political tensions subside in Pakistan, remittances remain robust in Bangladesh and Nepal, and demand for the region's exports firms. Past adjustments have reduced vulnerability to financial market volatility. Risks are mainly domestic and of a political nature. Sustaining the pace of reform and maintaining political stability are key to maintaining the recent growth momentum. In Sub-Saharan Africa, growth picked up only moderately in 2014 to 4.5 percent, reflecting a slowdown in several of the region's large economies, notably South Africa.