The IMF raised its 2026 growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa to 4.5%, cementing its position as one of the world’s fastest growing regions.
The IMF said the new projection, marginally higher than July’s 4.3%, “masks substantial divergence,” with oil-importing economies the most exposed to higher energy and food prices driven by Iran-war-related supply chain shocks.
The IMF expects the continent’s biggest economy, South Africa, to grow more than four times slower than the region this year and next, as the higher oil prices hit its already fragile prospects. On the flip side, the fund raised its projected growth rate for Nigeria, Africa’s top crude oil producer, to 4.2%, citing a “favorable terms of trade effect.”
Looking globally, the IMF named rising national debt as a growing risk to financial stability, “especially with high borrowing costs.” Last week, the World Bank said that nearly four-fifths of African countries spend more on interest payments than on health or education.
