World Bank Releases Nigeria’s Economic Growth Rate Forecast for 2025
- The World Bank has once again reiterated its GDP growth forecast for Nigeria in 2025 and also 2026
- The international financial institution said services drive the projection, while oil output stays below the OPEC quota
- The forecast for Nigeria is below Sub-Saharan Africa's growth, which is projected at 4.1% in 2025
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
The World Bank has projected Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate to be 3.5% in 2025 and 3.7% in 2026.
This was revealed in the January 2025 edition of the bank's Global Economic Prospects report, released on Thursday, January 17.
Source: UGC
According to the World Bank report, Nigeria's economic growth improved to an estimated 3.3% in 2024, while modest growth is expected in 2025.
The Bretton Woods Institution also projected that GDP growth in Nigeria will strengthen to an average of 3.6% a year in 2025-26.
The report noted that the gradually declining inflation would support Nigeria's projected growth for 2025 and 2026.
Part of the report reads:
“In Nigeria, growth increased to an estimated 3.3 % in 2024, mainly driven by services sector activity, particularly in financial and telecommunication services.
“Macroeconomic and fiscal reforms helped improve business confidence. In response to rising inflation and a weak naira, the central bank tightened monetary policy.
“GDP growth in Nigeria is forecast to strengthen to an average of 3.6 per cent a year in 2025-26.
“Following monetary policy tightening in 2024, inflation is projected to gradually decline, boosting consumption and supporting growth in the services sector, which continues to be the main driver of growth.
Despite these projections, the World Bank identified persistent risks to Nigeria's economic recovery, Punch reports.
It was noted that citizens earning power would remain weak.
The report stated
"For Nigeria's oil production, we expect it to increase over the forecast period but to remain below the OPEC quota.
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The baseline forecast implies that per capita income growth will remain weak over the forecast horizon.”
Nigeria's growth rate vs the rest of Africa
On the outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the report said that growth in the region is expected to strengthen to 4.1 per cent in 2025 and 4.3 per cent in 2026, which is higher than Nigeria's projection.
World Bank added:
“Following weaker-than-expected regional growth last year, growth projections for 2025 have been revised upward by 0.2 percentage points, and for 2026 by 0.3 percentage points, with improvements seen across various subgroups.
"At the country level, projected growth has been upgraded for nearly half of SSA economies in both 2025 and 2026."
The report, however, stated that growth rates in the region's largest two economies (Nigeria and South Africa) will continue to lag behind those of the rest of the area despite the projected growth pickups in both countries.
World Bank approves $2.25bn loan for Tinubu's govt
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the World Bank had approved a $2.25 billion loan to support President Bola Tinubu's reforms in the country.
In a statement, the global institution said the loan was approved to support Nigeria's response to the country's current economic challenges.
Nigerians have reacted to the new loan on social media.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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