Nigeria missing as IMF lists Africa’s fastest-growing economies
The International Monetary Fund has revealed that Nigeria is not among Africa’s fastest-growing economies, as countries such as Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda continue to lead the continent’s growth trajectory in the world.
The IMF said the five countries are now among the world’s fastest-expanding economies, buoyed by sustained policy reforms, improved fiscal management, and investments in infrastructure and manufacturing.
The Director of the IMF’s African Department, Abebe Selassie, disclosed this during the launch of Sub-Saharan Africa’s latest Regional Economic Outlook at a press briefing monitored by our correspondent on Thursday.
He said Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda are among the world’s top-performing economies, crediting their strong growth to fiscal reforms and macroeconomic stability.
The Director also noted that overall growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to stabilise at 4.1 per cent in 2025, with a modest pick-up expected in 2026, powered by macro stabilisation and reform efforts in key economies.
Selassie said, “Six months ago, our assessment highlighted the region’s strong efforts and that growth had exceeded expectations last year. But we also noted sudden realignment of global priorities and increasing turbulent external conditions, marked by weaker demand, softer commodity prices and tighter financial markets. Today, these global headwinds continue to test the region’s recovery and resilience.
“Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth, we now estimate, is expected to hold steady at 4.1% this year, with a modest pick-up expected in 2026. In our view, this reflects ongoing progress in macroeconomic stabilisation and reform efforts across the major economies in the region.
“It is important to note that several countries in the region, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, are among the fastest-growing economies in the world.”
This omission comes despite the IMF’s recent upward revision of Nigeria’s growth forecast, projecting the economy to expand by 3.9 per cent in 2025, driven by higher oil output, improved investor confidence, and a more supportive fiscal policy.
The updated figures reflect a 0.5 percentage point increase from its previous forecast and signal renewed optimism about the country’s medium-term economic prospects.
In July, the IMF revised Nigeria’s economic growth projection for 2025 upward to 3.4 per cent, a 0.4 percentage point increase from the 3.0 per cent forecast published in its April 2025 World Economic Outlook.
The National Bureau of Statistics also reported last month that Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.23 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the second quarter of 2025.
The figure marks a notable improvement from the 3.48 per cent growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2024, reflecting modest gains from increased oil output, recovery in key non-oil sectors, and easing inflationary pressures.
However, the IMF’s verdict indicates that the growth remains below potential, and the government is urged to deepen structural reforms, improve electricity supply, curb inflation, and expand non-oil revenue through industrial diversification and better tax administration
