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Amid wars and soaring energy prices, IMF says the global economy is on the brink of recession

NPR | By Rob Schmitz,

Daniel Ofman, Tinbete Ermyas

Published April 18, 2026 at 4:09 PM CDT

A report from the International Monetary Fund warns "the global economy is threatened with being thrown off course." European Union Commissioner Marta Kos discusses this grim economic outlook.

Rob Schmitz

Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.

Daniel Ofman

Tinbete Ermyas