Nigeria’s Economy Will Grow Faster Than That Of UK, Others In 2025 — IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised Nigeria’s 2025 economic growth forecast upward from 3.0% to 3.4%, placing the country ahead of several advanced economies, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Germany.

This update was disclosed in the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook report, released on Tuesday. The 0.4 percentage point upgrade reflects growing confidence in Nigeria’s macroeconomic reforms and the underlying resilience of its economy.

According to the report, Nigeria’s expected growth rate now surpasses that of the UK (1.2%), Germany (0.1%), Canada (1.6%), and the US (1.9%). This positive revision follows a recent GDP rebasing exercise by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which updated Nigeria’s 2024 gross domestic product to ?372.8 trillion (approximately $243 billion), up from ?314.02 trillion the previous year. The recalibration accounts for a broader inclusion of informal sector activities.

Despite the improved outlook, Nigeria remains the fourth-largest economy in Africa, trailing South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria. However, the IMF’s latest projections indicate a potential shift in regional economic dynamics, driven by policy reforms and expanding economic activity.

Globally, the IMF also adjusted growth estimates for several emerging markets: China’s projection rose from 4.0% to 4.8%, India from 6.2% to 6.4%, Brazil from 2.0% to 2.3%, and Mexico reversed a negative outlook, moving from -0.3% to 0.2%.

In contrast, most advanced economies saw only marginal improvements. The Fund attributed the global upward revisions to factors such as lower-than-anticipated US tariffs, improved global financial conditions, a weakening US dollar, and fiscal stimulus in key economies.

Overall, global economic growth for 2025 is now forecast at 3.0%, up from the earlier estimate of 2.8%.