The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth in 2024 to 3.1 per cent citing weaker growth recorded in the first quarter of’2024.
According to the IMF forecast released on Tuesday, the downgrade represents 0.2 percentage points below the earlier forecast of 3.3 per cent.
The downgrade followed weaker-than-expected Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and growth recorded by the country in the first quarter of 2023.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, showed that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, growth dropped, quarter-on-quarter, QoQ to 2.98 per cent in Q1’24 from 3.46 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, Q3’23,
The IMF, however, retained its 3.0 per cent forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth in 2025.
As a result of the lower forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth, the IMF also downgraded its forecast for Sub-Saharan economic growth in 2024 to 3.7 per cent from the April WEO forecast of 3.8 per cent. It however raised its economic growth forecast for the region in 2025 to 4.1 per cent from 4.0.
“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,” the IMF said.
For the global economy, the IMF retained its growth forecasts of 3.2 per cent in 2024 and 3.3 per cent in 2025.
The IMF said: “The Global Economy in a Sticky Spot Global growth is projected to be in line with the April 2024 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast, at 3.2 per cent in 2024 and 3.3 per cent in 2025.”
GIK/APA
IMF lowers Nigeria’s economic growth forecast to 3.1%
