It is the first time the three economies, which comprise 64.4 percent of the world’s economy, have collectively recorded minus growth since the euro was launched in 1999.

The global economy has plunged into depression and a huge impact is expected upon emerging economies with a high dependence on exports, including Korea and China.

Japan’s Cabinet Office announced on Monday that GDP in the third quarter decreased by 0.1 percent from the second quarter, which also recorded -0.9 percent growth. Eurostat, the EU’s statistics institution, said last Friday that Eurozone recorded -0.2 percent consecutive growth in the second and third quarters. The U.S. saw its GDP growth skid from the 2.8 percent in the second quarter to -0.3 percent in the third quarter.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the world’s three major economies will continue to post minus growth next year. The international agency predicted next year’s growth rate for the U.S., Eurozone and Japan would be -0.7 percent, -0.5 percent, and -0.2 percent, respectively. The global economy will therefore grow around 2.2 percent, said the agency.

However, Kim Hyun-wook, a researcher at the Korea Development Institute, said that world economy might plunge to 0 percent next year, if current trends continue. The IMF will also reportedly lower the outlook for Korea’s economic growth for next year to around 2 percent from the current estimation of 3.5 percent.

(englishnews@chosun.com )