Global growth will "decelerate markedly" this year as COVID-19 outbreaks and supply chain snarls persist while government aid programs expire, the World Bank said Tuesday.

The Washington-based development lender forecasts that growth would slow to 4.1 percent this year from an estimated 5.5 percent in 2021, but warns "Omicron-related economic disruptions could substantially reduce growth" to as low as 3.4 percent.

(Cover: A general view of the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. /CFP)