IMF Explains Downgrade of Nigeria’s Growth Projection

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday, gave an insight into why it downgraded Nigeria’s growth projection, attributing it to low outputs in the country’s agricultural and oil sectors.

IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas gave the explanation during the World Economic Outlook press briefing at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington D.C., USA.

Gourinchas blamed flooding affecting agriculture output and heightened security concerns hampering oil production for the decline in production in both sectors of Nigeria’s economy.

“We revised Nigeria’s growth down by 0.2 percent because of volatility. The reason for the reversal is due to issues in agriculture caused by flooding, and production issues in the oil sector related to security,” Gourinchas stated.

The Washington-based Fund, in June revised its growth forecast for Nigeria, lowering it by 0.2 percentage points from 3.3% to 3.1%.

In its latest World Economic Output, released on Tuesday, the IMF lowered its 2024 growth forecast for Nigeria’s economy to 2.9%, attributing the downgrade to weaker-than-expected economic activity in the first half of the year.

The revised forecast represents a 0.2 percentage point decrease from the 3.1% growth forecast projected in the July 2024 WEO.