World Bank Maintains Nigeria’s Economic Growth Forecast at 3.6%

The World Bank has retained its growth projection for Nigeria at 3.6% for 2025, signaling cautious optimism about the country’s economic trajectory. In its latest Global Economic Prospects report, the Bank indicated that Nigeria’s economy is expected to expand steadily, projecting a further rise to 3.7% in 2026 and 3.8% in 2027.

This outlook comes amid a global slowdown, with the World Bank lowering its global growth forecast to 2.3%, the slowest pace since the financial crisis of 2008, excluding recession years. Despite these global headwinds, Nigeria is expected to maintain its recovery path, driven primarily by strong performance in the services sector, especially finance, telecommunications, and information and communications technology.

The report noted that Nigeria’s economy is benefitting from recent reforms aimed at restoring monetary stability, curbing inflation, and bolstering investor confidence. These reforms, according to the World Bank, have helped steady the naira and improve fiscal discipline, although challenges persist in the industrial sector due to relatively weak crude oil output.

Inflation, which has remained stubbornly high in recent years, is projected to moderate gradually due to tighter monetary policies and other domestic interventions. The World Bank stressed that while external risks such as global trade tensions and geopolitical instability could affect the broader Sub-Saharan African region, Nigeria’s limited trade exposure to the United States and China helps cushion potential fallout.

Overall, the World Bank’s steady outlook reflects cautious optimism, underpinned by structural reforms and growing confidence in Nigeria’s medium-term economic prospects.