The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded Nigeria’s real GDP growth in 2024 from 3.3% in its earlier projection in April to 3.1%.
The IMF disclosed this in a recent update to the global economic outlook titled “Global Economy in a Sticky Spot” published on Tuesday.
According to the report, the downgrade in the country’s economic growth stems from weaker-than-expected activities between January and March 2024.
The IMF further downgraded economic growth projections for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) on the back of a decline in economic activities in Nigeria from 3.8% to 3.7%.
The report reads, “The forecast for growth in sub-Saharan Africa is revised downward, mainly as a result of a 0.2 percentage point downward revision to the growth outlook in Nigeria amid weaker than expected activity in the first quarter of this year.”
Furthermore, the IMF left growth projections for other big economies in Africa unchanged at 0.9% in 2024 and 1.2% in 2025. Egypt on the other hand saw 0.3%-point decline in economic growth projections in 2024 and 2025 from 3.0% in the earlier projection to 2.7% and from 4.4% to 4.1%.
Global economic growth across economic regions
The IMF also reported that global growth is projected to remain steady at 3.2% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025, consistent with its earlier forecast in April this year.
Although this projection aligns with the April 2024 World Economic Outlook, the report highlighted significant developments beneath the surface since then. In advanced economies, growth is expected to converge in the coming quarters. For instance, in the United States, the projected growth for 2024 has been revised downward to 2.6%.
In contrast, growth forecasts for emerging markets and developing economies have been revised upward, driven by stronger activity in Asia, particularly in China and India.
However, for Latin America and the Caribbean, the report indicated that growth projections for 2024 have been revised downward in Brazil, due to the near-term impact of flooding, and in Mexico, due to a moderation in demand.
What you should know
Nigeria’s GDP growth declined to 2.98%, lower than the rate recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023 which was 3.46%, according to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The GDP performance in the first quarter of 2024 was largely driven by the services sector, which grew by 4.32% and contributed 58.04% to the overall GDP.
The federal government expects the economy to grow by 3.76% in 2024 higher than projections from major international development organisations.