Nigeria, Jan. 24 -- More than one in four developing economies still have lower per capita income than before the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing a deep and persistent divide in the global recovery, the World Bank has said.

"More than one-quarter of emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), particularly low-income countries and those affected by fragility and conflict, still have per capita incomes below 2019 levels," the World Bank said in its January Global Economic Prospects report.

The finding highlights what the bank described as a sharp divergence beneath the surface of a resilient global economy.

While nearly 90 per cent of advanced economies have recovered beyond pre-pandemic income levels, many poorer countries are still s...