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The World Bank has maintained its 2024 growth projection of 3.3% for Nigeria, citing the country’s impressive economic performance in the first half of the year, which was marked by a series of fiscal adjustments.
The World Bank has scaled back its projection for Nigeria’s economic expansion in 2025, lowering the forecast from 3.7% in January to 3.5%, reflecting a more cautious outlook for the nation’s growth prospects.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth is now expected to come in at 3.0% for 2024, a downward revision from the World Bank’s previous forecast of 3.8% in January, reflecting a more subdued outlook.
The report stated: “Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) weakened to 3.0 percent in 2023. Growth in the region’s largest three economies—Nigeria, South Africa, Angola—remained weak. In early 2024, private sector activity picked up, buoyed by a strengthening global economy.
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Simultaneously, many regional economies are wrestling with delicate fiscal situations, stemming from a combination of limited tax bases and hefty debt repayment burdens, which are being exacerbated by the challenges of navigating currency volatility.
The Nigerian economy’s growth pace slowed to 2.9% in 2023, but it showed a remarkable ability to absorb the shocks of macroeconomic reforms, posting a mild but heartening expansion in early 2024 that hinted at a possible turnaround.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth is expected to gain momentum, surging from 3.0% in 2023 to 3.5% in 2024 and reaching an annual rate of 4.0% in 2025-26, driven by decreasing inflationary pressures that will enable interest rate reductions and boost consumer spending and investment.
The three largest economies in the region are predicted to experience a modest boost in growth, rising from 1.8% in 2023 to 2.4% in 2024 and averaging 2.6% in 2025-26, still falling short of the region’s overall growth rate.
Countries without significant natural resources are predicted to maintain a robust growth trajectory, exceeding their long-term average, while economies heavily reliant on resource exports are forecast to recover from a lackluster performance in 2023, driven by a rebound in metal prices.
