RIYADH: The International Monetary Fund has raised Saudi Arabia’s economic growth forecast to 4 percent for both 2025 and 2026.
In its October World Economic Outlook, the IMF upgraded the Kingdom’s 2025 projection from the 3.6 percent it forecast in July, along with an estimate of 3.9 percent for 2026.
The IMF’s updated forecast is broadly in line with projections from other institutions. The World Bank this month said the Saudi economy will expand 3.2 percent in 2025, accelerating to 4.3 percent in 2026 and 4.4 percent in 2027. In September, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also raised its 2026 growth estimate for the Kingdom to 3.9 percent from 2.5 percent.
Globally, the IMF expects the world economy to grow by 3.2 percent in 2025 and 3.1 percent in 2026.
In its latest report, the institution said: “Growth in the Middle East and Central Asia is projected to accelerate, from 2.6 percent in 2024 to 3.5 percent in 2025 and to 3.8 percent in 2026.”
