IMF downgrade Nigeria’s economic growth to 2.9% in 2024
Omeiza Bilal
The international Monetary Fund (IMF) in its Global Economic Outlook report for October downgraded Nigeria’s economic growth to 2.9 per cent in 2024.
In April, the Fund had projected Nigeria’s growth at 3.3 per cent in 2024, before lowering it to 3.1 per cent in July.
The October WEO presented by Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, IMF’s Director of Research Department, and the Division Chief Daniel Leigh on Tuesday stated that its projection was due to insecurity in oil-producing areas, the impact of floods and lower-than-expected activity in the first half of the year.
In the past couple of weeks, Nigeria has been devastated by flooding which claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed farmlands further worsening the country food security challenges.
Also, massive oil theft in the Niger Delta has left the country reeling as oil revenue has drastically reduced due to significant shortfall in production.
Despite the down grade, the report noted that global growth is expected to remain stable yet underwhelming in 2024.
The Funds noted that at 3.2 percent in 2024 and 2025, global growth projection remains virtually unchanged.
According to the BrettonWoods Institute, at 3.1 percent global remains mediocre compared with the prepandemic average saying that persistent structural headwinds—such as population aging and weak productivity—are holding back potential growth in many economies.
“Cyclical imbalances have eased since the beginning of the year, leading to a better alignment of economic activity with potential output in major economies.
“This adjustment is bringing inflation rates across countries closer together and on balance has contributed to lower global inflation.
“Global headline inflation is expected to fall from an annual average of 6.7 percent in 2023 to 5.8 percent in 2024 and 4.3 percent in 2025, with advanced economies returning to their inflation targets sooner than emerging market and developing economies.
“As global disinflation continues to progress, broadly in line with the baseline, bumps on the road to price stability are still possible. Goods prices have stabilized, but services price inflation remains elevated in many regions, pointing to the importance of understanding sectoral dynamics and of calibrating monetary policy,” the IMF explained.
