Nine out of 20 world’s fastest-growing economies in Africa — IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed optimism on the present economic situation in Africa, saying that the growth output has been improving in the continent.

The IMF said nine out of the 20 of the world’s fastest-growing economies this year are in Africa. The global fund disclosed this at a press briefing convened at its headquarters in Washington DC.

“So, what we’ve seen in Sub-Saharan Africa is that the growth outlook has been improving.  Growth has been revised up to 4.6 percent in 2026.  And this has been supported by some of the macroeconomic stabilization and reform efforts in key economies,” it said.

“We do see divergences.  We do see nine out of the 20 of the world’s fastest-growing economies this year are in Africa.  But we also see headwinds in conflict-affected countries, which, of course, are still struggling on the growth front and often on the humanitarian front as well.  And with lower oil prices, some oil exporters are also facing headwinds.”

The Fund further explained that it sees a bit of a divergent picture across Africa, with some very fast and dynamic, fast growing and dynamic economies and some economies which are still struggling.

On the trade corridor, the IMF noted that globally countries and regions showing most interest in bilateral or regional trade agreements and still trading and looking for new ways to enhance trade and new connections.

“This seems to be part of something that we’re seeing more globally. The Managing Director was recently in Algeria, and we were attending, participating, and co-hosting a conference there about connecting Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, and Europe, for example.  So, this is part of a broader global trend that seems to be emerging,” the Fund stressed.

The IMF also observed that the global financial system and financial conditions has continued to be more relatively accommodative, adding that what they have seen now, particularly for emerging and low-income countries, is that spreads have become compressed.

“They’ve come down, and we are seeing kind of a pickup in financing flows and the ability of particularly frontier and emerging markets to access capital markets again. So, we do see overall the financing picture a bit improving for some of these countries,” the Fund added.

The Washington-based agency of the United Nations (UN) also disclosed that it will be having on February 25th the Board meeting for the combined Fifth and Sixth Reviews under the EFF on February 25^th in Egypt.

This, according to the IMF, would allow for a disbursement of $2.3 billion, adding that it would be $2 billion under the EFF and around close to $300 million under the RSF.

“Given the significant impact that inflation has had on the purchasing power, specifically of low and middle-income households in Egypt, at the IMF we support targeted assistance for vulnerable households and particularly considering that they receive relatively low levels of social support in Egypt compared with other countries.” the Fund further stated.

The UN specialized agency equally disclosed that its Deputy Managing Director Bo Li will visit Gambia from March 16th to 17^th to meet with President Barrow and other senior officials, as well as other stakeholders, and to discuss the IMF’s ongoing support to the Gambia.