Purpose: The purpose of this work is to study the impact of the 2020 crisis on imbalances in the world economy from the point of view of the problem of its balance and the prospects for its sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology of this study is to predict and scenario the values of the indicators of sustainable development highlighted in chapter 2 of this book, as well as to compare the difference between developed and developing countries in each scenario. Findings: It has been proved that as the 2020 economic crisis deepens, the imbalances in the world economy, expressed in the differences between developed and developing countries, increase. In 2019, developed countries showed 100.26% greater sustainability compared to developing countries. In 2020, under the optimistic scenario, the imbalance will increase to 119%, under the realistic scenario to 142.96%, and under the pessimistic scenario to 198.45%. Originality/value: It is justified that the 2020 economic crisis has a negative impact not only on national economies, impeding their sustainable development, but also on the global economy as a whole, increasing its imbalances. Therefore, in order to maintain a balanced world economy, it was necessary to combine the efforts of developed and developing countries to jointly manage the crisis and accelerate the resolution of the crisis.