IMF Forecasts 3.3% Economic Growth for Nigeria in 2024

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently revised its economic growth forecast for Nigeria, increasing it from 3.0% to 3.3% for 2024. The upward adjustment was announced in the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook, which was released during the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Washington, United States.

This positive revision, which represents a 0.3 percentage point increase from the IMF’s previous growth prediction, is indicative of improved economic prospects for Nigeria in 2024.

However, the IMF has taken a more conservative stance for 2025, reducing Nigeria’s economic growth forecast to 3.0 per cent, a slight decrease from the 3.1 per cent projected earlier in January.

Within the broader Sub-Saharan Africa region, the IMF has maintained its 3.8 per cent economic growth forecast for 2024 but has revised the 2025 forecast downward to 4.0 per cent, from the previously projected 4.1 per cent.

The global economic outlook also received a modest boost, with the IMF raising its growth forecast for 2024 to 3.2 per cent, up from the 3.1 per cent projected in the January 2024 World Economic Outlook. The forecast for 2025 remains unchanged at 3.2 per cent.

The IMF stated, “Global growth, estimated at 3.2 per cent in 2023, is projected to continue at the same pace in 2024 and 2025. The projection for 2024 is revised up by 0.1 percentage point from the January 2024 WEO Update and by 0.3 percentage point to the October 2023 WEO forecast. Nevertheless, the projection for global growth in 2024 and 2025 is below the historical (2000–19) annual average of 3.8 per cent, reflecting restrictive monetary policies and withdrawal of fiscal support, as well as low underlying productivity growth.”