The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has left Nigeria out of its list of Africa’s fastest-growing economies, naming Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda as the continent’s top performers.
IMF’s African Department Director, Abebe Selassie, announced this during the presentation of the Fund’s latest Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa on Thursday. He attributed the strong performance of the five countries to fiscal reforms, improved governance, and rising investment in infrastructure and manufacturing.
According to the IMF, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to stabilise at 4.1 per cent in 2025, with modest improvement in 2026. Nigeria’s growth, although recently revised upward to 3.9 per cent, remains below the regional average.
The Fund warned that several African countries, including Nigeria, face rising debt vulnerabilities as governments increasingly rely on domestic bank borrowing amid tight global financing conditions.
Selassie urged nations to strengthen revenue mobilisation, reform tax systems, and adopt more flexible exchange rates to cushion external shocks.
Assistant Director Jason Wu noted that Nigeria’s fiscal and foreign exchange management had improved, with inflation dropping from 30 to 23 per cent. However, the IMF cautioned that persistent external headwinds and capital flow volatility could still threaten the region’s recovery.
