The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted a slowdown in Nigeria’s economic growth for 2024, according to its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report. Nigeria’s economy is now expected to grow by 2.9% in 2024, a downward revision from the 3.2% projected in July 2024 and 3.4% in April 2024.
Jean Marc-Natal, Deputy Chief of IMF’s Research Department, cited significant disruptions in agriculture due to flooding and instability in Nigeria’s oil industry as the main reasons for this revision. He stated, “Things are volatile because the revision is precisely due to issues in agriculture related to flooding and issues in oil production, related to security and maintenance that have pushed down production.”
For 2025, the IMF projects a 3.2% growth, slightly lower than the World Bank’s forecast of 3.6% for the same period. According to a World Bank report obtained by 9am News Nigeria, Nigeria’s economy is expected to grow by 3.6% in 2025–26 as macroeconomic and fiscal reforms take effect.
The report also notes a decline in Nigeria’s inflation, with IMF projecting inflation to drop from an average of 33% in 2024 to 25% by 2025. The World Bank highlighted that inflation peaked at 34.2% in June 2024 but has since decelerated to 32.2% by August.
To address inflation and economic stability, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s Economic Counsellor and Director of Research, stressed the need for tighter monetary and fiscal policies. He noted that excessive austerity could harm growth and urged governments to prioritize essential spending on services like healthcare and public investments.
In his statement to 9am News Nigeria, Gourinchas emphasized, “We need to protect the kind of spending that is good for growth,” advocating a careful balance between fiscal consolidation and targeted expenditure to avoid stalling economic recovery.
The IMF continues to urge nations like Nigeria to carefully manage their policies to tackle inflation and spur long-term economic growth.
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