Developing countries face a series of tough challenges in 2015, including the looming prospect of higher borrowing costs in a new era of low prices for oil and other key commodities, a World Bank report has said.

According to the report, this will result in a fourth consecutive year of disappointing economic growth this year.

Developing countries are now projected to grow by 4.4 per cent this year, with a likely rise to 5.2 per cent in 2016, and 5.4 per cent in 2017, said the latest 2015 Global Economic Prospects report.

“Developing countries were an engine of global growth following the financial crisis, but now they face a more difficult economic environment,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.

“We’ll do all we can to help low- and middle-income countries become more resilient so that they can manage this transition as securely as possible.

“We believe that countries that invest in people’s education and health, improve the business environment, and create jobs through upgrades in infrastructure will emerge much stronger in the years ahead.

“These kinds of investments will help hundreds of millions of people lift themselves out of poverty,” he added.