The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised Nigeria’s economic growth to 4.4 percent in 2026, from 4.2 percent in 2025, amidst impact of ongoing government reforms and improving macroeconomic conditions.
The projection is contained in the IMF’s January 2026 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update, which the Fund said it would release alongside a hybrid press conference hosted at the National Bank of Belgium in Brussels.
According to the IMF, growth across sub-Saharan Africa is expected to strengthen, rising from 4.4 percent in 2025 to 4.6 percent in both 2026 and 2027.
This acceleration is attributed to macroeconomic stabilisation efforts and structural reforms in several key economies across the region. At the global level, the IMF expects growth to remain broadly steady, even as momentum in high-technology sectors moderates.
While these sectors are projected to slow, they are still expected to partially offset weaker activity elsewhere. The Fund noted that tariffs and elevated uncertainty will continue to weigh on global activity in the near term, but their impact on growth is expected to diminish gradually over 2026 and 2027.
