The International Monetary Fund has said Nigeria’s ongoing macroeconomic stabilisation measures are beginning to yield results, helping to lift the growth outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa.
The assessment was made on Wednesday during the presentation of the IMF’s January 2026 World Economic Outlook Update, where the Fund revised growth projections for the region upward and cited Nigeria among key economies where policy adjustments are starting to pay off.
According to the IMF, economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is now projected at 4.4% in 2025, representing a 0.2 percentage-point upgrade from its previous forecast.
Growth projections for 2026 and 2027 were also revised upward to 4.6%, amounting to a cumulative 0.3 percentage-point increase compared with the October outlook.
Explaining the revision, the IMF’s Research Department Division Chief, Deniz Igan, said the stronger outlook reflected favourable commodity prices and improving macroeconomic conditions in some of the region’s largest economies.
She noted that Nigeria’s stabilisation gains are helping to create a more predictable macroeconomic environment, alongside structural reforms in South Africa and easing global financial conditions that have reduced external borrowing costs for African economies.
The IMF said the regional outlook has also benefited from improved global financial conditions compared with late 2025, supporting capital flows and economic activity, even as risks remain elevated.
However, Igan warned that downside risks persist, particularly for low-income and fragile economies, citing the possibility of cuts to international development assistance and a renewed tightening of global financial conditions.
On the global economy, the IMF’s Economic Counsellor and Director of Research, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said growth remains resilient despite trade disruptions and heightened uncertainty. He said global growth was revised upward to 3.3%, 0.2 percentage points higher than the October estimate.
Gourinchas added that global inflation is expected to continue easing, declining from 4.1% in 2025 to 3.8% in 2026 and 3.4% in 2027, although it will remain above central bank targets in many emerging and developing economies.