Nigeria’s economic growth is expected to slow down in 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund’s updated prediction.

The most recent World Economic Outlook study, which was made public on Tuesday, projects that Nigeria’s GDP will expand by 2.9% in 2024, continuing the growth rate that was observed in 2023.

The most recent estimate represents a 0.2% drop from the July estimate and a 0.4% drop from the April estimate.

The IMF’s cautious approach to the difficulties facing developing countries, especially Nigeria, is reflected in this adjustment.

“The revision reflects slower growth in Nigeria amid weaker-than-expected activity in the first half of the year,” the foreign lender stated.

Nonetheless, the IMF also pointed out that the growth estimate for 2025 is 3.2%, which is 0.2% higher than the estimates from this year’s July and April.

The World Bank’s 2024 and 2025 projections are significantly higher than the IMF’s.

Nigeria’s gross domestic product is expected to grow by 3.3% in 2024 and slightly accelerate to 3.6% in 2025–2026, according to a recent World Bank research published in Africa’s Pulse.

According to the analysis, Nigeria’s economy is expected to grow by 3.3% in 2024 and 3.6% in 2025–2026 as macroeconomic and fiscal reforms begin to show benefits. After reaching a peak of 34.2% year-over-year in June 2024, inflation slowed to 33.4% in July and then to 32.2% in August.

But according to the IMF, Nigeria’s inflation rate would decrease from an average of 32.55% in 2024 to 25% in 2025.

At the present IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, D.C., the IMF called on nations with high inflation, like Nigeria, to implement stricter monetary policies in order to stabilise their economies during a news conference announcing the World Economic Outlook (WEO).

In order to address inflation and debt issues, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s head of research and economic counsellor, emphasised the necessity of striking a balance between fiscal and monetary policy.

“We recommend a tight monetary policy stance in countries with very high inflation,” he stated. When feasible, fiscal consolidation can be helpful in some situations, but many countries have to make trade-offs.