Media Advisory 

United Nations to launch 2026 mid-year update on the global economy

Press briefing live on UN WebTV

The report is under embargo until 19 May 2026, 12:45 pm EDT

The crisis in the Middle East has delivered another major shock to the world economy, heightening uncertainty, stoking inflationary pressures and testing the resilience of global growth.

Countries face varying degrees of exposure to the shock and also differ in their capacities to cope, leading to uneven impacts. For many developing economies, intensifying cost-of-living pressures, limited policy space, and slowing growth prospects risk further setbacks in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals,  while entrenching inequalities across and within countries.

Published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2026 updates the global and regional economic outlook for the year ahead.

WHAT

Press briefing to launch the World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2026 

WHO

• Shantanu Mukherjee, Director, Economic Analysis and Policy Division, UN DESA

• Ingo Pitterle, Senior Economist and Officer-in-Charge, Global Economic Monitoring Branch, Economic Analysis and Policy Division, UN DESA 

WHEN

Tuesday, 19 May 2026, 12:45 pm EDT 

WHERE              

UN Press Briefing Room, S-237 (Live on http://webtv.un.org)

The report will be available on 19 May 2026, 12:45 pm EDT at desapublications.un.org once the embargo has been lifted.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Sharon Birch, UN Department of Global Communications, [email protected]

Helen Rosengren, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, [email protected] 

EXPERT INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES

Global Outlook

Mr. Shantanu Mukherjee, Director, Economic Analysis and Policy Division (English)

Mr. Ingo Pitterle, Officer-in-Charge, Global Economic Monitoring Branch (English, German)

Mr. Grigor Agabekian, Economic Affairs Officer (Russian)

Mr. Sebastian Vergara, Economic Affairs Officer (Spanish)

Regional Outlooks

Interviews are available upon request