IMF predicts Nigeria will grow faster than South Africa in 2018

Despite Nigeria’s inflation rate of 16.10 per cent in June, 2017, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Nigeria’s economy will grow faster than South African economy in the 2018 fiscal year.

According to its World Economic Outlook (WEO) for July 2017, the IMF said that Nigeria will grow at 1.9 per cent in 2018, while South Africa will only leap by 1.2 per cent.

The international finance agency argued that in 2016, the Nigerian economy contracted by 1.6 per cent, while South Africa expanded by 0.3 per cent.

According to its projections for 2017, South Africa’s growth was put at 1 per cent while Nigeria was expected to muster just 0.8 per cent.

IMF cited Bretton Woods institution, which held global growth projections at 3.5 per cent in 2017 and 3.6 per cent in 2018, saying the growth was marked down in South Africa due to elevated political uncertainty.

“In sub-Saharan Africa, the outlook remains challenging. Growth is projected to rise in 2017 and 2018 but will barely return to positive territory in per capita terms this year for the region as a whole and would remain negative for about a third of the countries in the region.

“The slight upward revision to 2017 growth relative to the April 2017 WEO forecast reflects a modest upgrading of growth prospects for South Africa, which is experiencing a bumper crop due to better rainfall and an increase in mining output prompted by a moderate rebound in commodity prices.

“However, the outlook for South Africa remains difficult, with elevated political uncertainty and weak consumer and business confidence, and the country’s growth forecast was consequently marked down for 2018,” IMF said.

The fund also added that global growth will be aided by growths in the US and the UK, who are projected to grow at 2.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.

“China’s growth projections have also been revised up (6.7 per cent), reflecting a strong first quarter of 2017 and expectations of continued fiscal support.

“Inflation in advanced economies remains subdued and generally below targets; it has also been declining in several emerging economies, such as Brazil, India and Russia,” the international body said.

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