From Uche Usim, Abuja
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Nigeria’s economy will grow faster than that of the United Kingdom and several other advanced economies in 2025, following an upward revision of its GDP growth forecast.
In its latest World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday, the IMF raised Nigeria’s growth estimate from 3.0 per cent to 3.4 per cent, a 0.4 percentage point increase from the Fund’s April 2025 projection.
The new forecast places Nigeria ahead of the UK (1.2%), Germany (0.1%), Canada (1.6%), and the United States (1.9%) in terms of expected economic expansion.
“This upward revision reflects Nigeria’s ongoing macroeconomic reforms and the resilience of its economy despite global headwinds,” the IMF said in the report.
The announcement follows a recent GDP rebasing exercise by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which updated Nigeria’s GDP to N372.8 trillion ($243 billion) for 2024, up from N314.02 trillion in the previous year. The recalculation captured a broader range of informal sector activities, further strengthening the country’s economic base.
Despite this positive revision, Nigeria remains the fourth-largest economy in Africa, behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria. But the IMF’s outlook signals renewed investor confidence in the country’s trajectory.
The Fund also revised upward the growth forecasts of other emerging economies: China from 4.0% to 4.8%, Mexico from -0.3% to 0.2%, Brazil from 2.0% to 2.3%, and India from 6.2% to 6.4%. However, advanced economies recorded only marginal gains, underscoring the widening growth gap.
The IMF attributed the global forecast improvements to “lower-than-expected US tariff rates, improved financial conditions, a weaker US dollar, and fiscal expansions in major economies.”
Global growth is now projected at 3.0 per cent in 2025, up from the previous 2.8 per cent estimate.
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