NIGERIA’s economy is expected to expand by 3.2 per cent in the coming year, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Similarly, the country’s headline inflation is to drop to 25 per cent in the same year.

The IMF projects this in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report released on Tuesday, October 22.

Its projection means Nigeria’s economy will improve by 0.3 per cent to 3.2 per cent in 2025, from 2.9 per cent in 2024.

In July, the IMF downgraded Nigeria’s economic growth to 3.1 per cent from 3.3 per cent it forecast in April, citing weaker growth recorded in the first quarter of the year.

IMF, a member of the Bretton Wood Financial Institution, also projects that Nigeria’s headline inflation will drop to 25 per cent in 2025.

This represents a 7.5 moderation from the 32.5 per cent it forecasted for the year.

Nigeria’s headline inflation currently stood at 32.70 per cent as of September, higher than the IMF projection.

Since President Bola Tinubu came into office on May 29, 2023, Nigeria’s inflationary pressure has surged considerably from 22.4 per cent, caused by the administration’s twin policy of fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification that have stoked the country’s economic.

The impacts have resulted in the increasing cost of energy, commodities, transportation and the general slowdown in the economy.

On the Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic, the global lender downgraded the region’s growth to 4.2 per cent in 2025 from an earlier projection in April.

“In sub-Saharan Africa, GDP growth is similarly projected to increase, from an estimated 3.6 per cent in 2023 to 4.2 per cent in 2025, as the adverse impacts of prior weather shocks abate and supply constraints gradually ease.”

“Compared with that in April, the regional forecast is revised downward by 0.2 percentage points for 2024 and upward by 0.1 percentage points for 2025. Besides the ongoing conflict that has led to a 26 per cent contraction of the South Sudanese economy, the revision reflects slower growth in Nigeria, amid weaker-than-expected activity in the first half of the year,” IMF stated.