The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today revised upward its growth forecast for Angola’s economy this year to 2.3%, in contrast to its forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa, which was lowered by 0.3 percentage points from its January projection to 4.3%.
“Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to remain relatively stable, at 4.3% in 2026 and 4.4% in 2027,” according to the Global Economic Outlook, released today at the start of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, which are taking place this week in Washington.
“The region’s major economies continue to benefit from macroeconomic stabilization and past reform efforts,” note IMF economists.
An example of this is Nigeria, the region’s largest economy, where “the growth rate remains at 4.1% in 2026, supported by greater macroeconomic stability and positive terms-of-trade effects, while higher costs of goods and transportation are adverse factors.”
A more detailed analysis of Sub-Saharan African countries will be released on Thursday when the IMF presents its report on the region, but the global economic report already indicates that Angola has seen an upward revision of its economic growth forecast for this year.
Angola is expected to grow by 2.3%, above the 2.1% forecast by the IMF in its previous outlook, and is even expected to accelerate to 2.6% next year, though still significantly below the regional average, which stands at 4.4% for 2027.
Equatorial Guinea, for its part, is expected to remain in recession this year and next, with declines in Gross Domestic Product of 2.7% in 2026 and 1.3% in 2027, continuing an economic crisis that has lasted for more than a decade.
Elsewhere in the report on the global economy, the IMF states that, amid uncertainty driven by the war in the Middle East, “the projected reductions in official development assistance (ODA) pose an additional challenge, particularly given their effects on outcomes in health, education, and social protection.”
Last week, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported a “significant decline” globally, falling back to 2015 levels.
“International aid from member and associate countries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) fell by 23.1% in real terms last year compared to 2024, the largest annual decline in the history of ODA,” the organization announced last week.
The OECD reported that, according to preliminary data, ODA “amounted to $174.3 billion [nearly €150 billion] in 2025, representing 0.26% of the combined Gross National Income (GNI) of these countries, down from $214.6 billion [183 billion euros], or 0.34% of GNI, recorded in 2024.”
The IMF revised its global growth forecast downward from 3.3% to 3.1% in 2026 due to the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, presenting a set of scenarios that illustrate the potential impacts of a prolonged war.
In the baseline scenario, global growth is projected at 3.1% in 2026 and 3.2% in 2027, “slower than the recent pace of around 3.4% in 2024–2025.”
The forecast for 2026 has been revised downward by 0.2 percentage points, while the 2027 forecast remains unchanged, compared to the last global update in January 2026.
The IMF notes that, prior to the conflict, forecasts would have been revised upward, so this downward revision is largely due to the disruptions caused by the war.
Source: Angola 24 Horas
