The World Bank has upgraded its 2026 economic growth forecast for Nigeria to 4.3 per cent, up from the 4.0 per cent recorded in 2025, and expects growth to reach 4.4 per cent annually in 2027 and 2028.

The projection was contained in the World Bank’s October 2026 Africa Economic Update, which was obtained by Nairametrics on Tuesday.

The lender attributed the stronger outlook to improving macroeconomic stability, strengthening investor confidence and a gradual recovery in private investment. It also noted that growth forecasts were upgraded for nearly three-quarters of Sub-Saharan African countries.

The World Bank expects Nigeria’s economic expansion to gain strength over the next three years as the impact of economic reforms and improved macroeconomic management becomes more evident.

It said Nigeria was among Zambia, Ethiopia and Angola, where growth forecasts were upgraded, reflecting the benefits of reforms and improved economic management.

“Economic activity in Nigeria is projected to strengthen from 4.0 percent in 2025 to 4.3 percent in 2026, before edging up to 4.4 percent annually in 2027–28, supported by improving macroeconomic stability, strengthening investor confidence, and a gradual recovery in private investment,” the World Bank stated.

The World Bank’s chief economist for Africa, Andrew Dabalen, said Sub-Saharan Africa continued to show resilience, with growth forecasts upgraded for nearly three-quarters of the countries in the region.

The World Bank also said stronger regional performance had helped lift its 2026 growth forecast for Africa to 4.3 per cent, from 4.1 per cent in its April projection.

The revised outlook comes despite a difficult global environment, including higher energy prices linked to the impact of the Iran war on supply chains.

The new forecast follows stronger recent GDP performance in Nigeria, with the economy expanding at a faster pace in the second quarter of 2026.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Nigeria’s real GDP grew by 4.43 per cent year-on-year in Q2 2026, compared with 4.23 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

The 4.43 per cent expansion represented an improvement on the 4.23 per cent growth recorded in Q2 2025.

The latest performance offers a recent domestic indicator of the economic expansion reflected in the World Bank’s revised outlook.

The World Bank expects growth to keep strengthening beyond 2026, reaching 4.4 per cent annually in 2027 and 2028.

The lender also urged African governments to embrace artificial intelligence as a way to raise productivity and create jobs, as the region seeks to sustain growth in a challenging global environment.

Nigeria’s upgraded outlook therefore places the country among the African economies where ongoing reforms and improving economic management are beginning to translate into stronger growth expectations.

Nigeria’s economy grew by 4.07 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the fourth quarter, Q4, of 2025.

S&P Global Ratings upgraded Nigeria’s long-term foreign and local currency credit ratings to ‘B’ from ‘B-’.