IMF Projects 0.5% Decline in Global GDP Growth; Forecasts GDP Growth to Hit 2.8% This Year

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its April 2025 World Economic Outlook (WEO) report has noted that global growth is projected to drop to 2.8 percent in 2025 and 3 percent in 2026.
This is down from the 3.3 percent projected for both years in the January 2025 WEO Update, corresponding to a cumulative downgrade of 0.8 percentage point, and much below the historical (2000–19) average of 3.7 percent.
Per the report, growth in advanced economies is projected to be 1.4 percent in 2025. Growth in the United States is expected to slow to 1.8 percent, a pace that is 0.9 percentage point lower relative to the projection in the January 2025 WEO Update, on account of greater policy uncertainty, trade tensions, and softer demand momentum, whereas growth in the euro area at 0.8 percent is expected to slow by 0.2 percentage point.
In emerging market and developing economies, growth is expected to slow down to 3.7 percent in 2025 and 3.9 percent in 2026, with significant downgrades for countries affected most by recent trade measures, such as China.
Meanwhile, global headline inflation is expected to decline at a pace that is slightly slower than what was expected in January, reaching 4.3 percent in 2025 and 3.6 percent in 2026, with notable upward revisions for advanced economies and slight downward revisions for emerging market and developing economies in 2025.
According to the April 2025 WEO, intensifying downside risks dominate growth outlook for 2025, adding that the ongoing trade war, along with even more elevated trade policy uncertainty, could further reduce near- and long-term growth, while eroded policy buffers weaken resilience to future shocks.

Source: norvareports.com