The OECD sharply hiked its 2021 global growth forecast on Tuesday as the deployment of coronavirus vaccines and a huge U.S. stimulus program greatly improve economic prospects. 

The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said it now expects global economy to grow 5.6 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from its December forecast. 

"Global economic prospects have improved markedly in recent months, helped by the gradual deployment of effective vaccines, announcements of additional fiscal support in some countries, and signs that economies are coping better with measures to suppress the virus," it said in a report. 

The OECD sees the U.S. economy growing 6.5 percent this year, a big increase of 3.3 percentage points on its previous forecast, with the world as a whole returning to pre-pandemic output levels by mid-2021. 

But for the moment, only China, India and Turkey have surpassed pre-pandemic levels and the picture is very mixed elsewhere. The organization also expects China's economy to grow by 7.8 percent in 2021 and 4.9 percent in 2022.

The OECD report pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy have been well controlled in Asia-Pacific economies. Effective public health measures, the recovery of industrial activities and the rebound of China's economy have contributed to the economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Despite the improved global outlook, output and incomes in many countries will remain below the level expected prior to the pandemic at the end of 2022," said the OECD, which groups the world's most developed economies.  

It said the "top policy priority" is to deploy vaccines as quickly as possible, to save lives, as well as to speed up economic recovery.  

Britain, which has also rolled out vaccines quickly, got a 0.9 percentage point increase to 5.1 percent – higher than the UK's own forecast, which was lowered last week.  

The eurozone, where vaccination campaigns have been slower, received only a 0.3 percentage point bump to 3.9 percent, as recoveries in both Italy and France were revised lower.

(With input from AFP)