The IMF declassifies the growth prospect of Nigeria at 3.0% – Thage

By Victor Osula, Abuja

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded the Nigeria economic growth forecasts for 2025 at 3.0 percent, which represent a reduction of 0.2 percentage points from its previous 3.2 percent projection.

The fund also projects a growth rate of 2.7 percent for the country in 2026.

“The growth forecasts for Nigeria are reduced to 0.2 percentage points for 2025 and 0.3 percentage points for 2026, due to a lower number of oil prices,” said the IMF in its latest world report of economic prospects (Woo) published Tuesday.

It observed that while Nigeria faces significant challenges, in particular with inflation, the volatility of Forex and weak infrastructure, recent political adjustments – such as the partial unification of exchange rates and the removal of fuel subsidies – could increase the trust of investors and stimulate the economic activity if correctly implemented.

The IMF also highlighted similar economic pressures that affect other main African economies.

According to the report, growth in sub-Saharan Africa should slightly decrease from 4.0 percent in 2024 to 3.8 percent in 2025, before recovering modestly to 4.2 percent in 2026.

“In South Africa, the growth forecasts are reduced to 0.5 percentage points for 2025 and 0.3 percentage points for 2026, reflecting the slowdown of the moment from a weaker performance than 2024, cleaning the feeling due to greater uncertainty, intensification of protectionist policies and a deeper slowdown in important economies.

“South Sudan has a reduction of 31.5 percentage points for 2025 due to delays in the resumption of oil production following damage to a key pipeline,” added the report.

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