Summary
The global economy is expected to grow at a consistent but below-trend rate for the next several quarters, according to the latest World Economic Outlook from the International Monetary Fund. By the numbers, the World Economy is expected to expand 3.3% in 2025 and in 2026, up from 3.2% in 2024. Though solid, these rates are below the long-term historical global growth rate of 3.8%, due to the impact of inflation and higher interest rates. For Industrialized economies (the U.S., Europe, Japan, etc.), growth is forecast at 1.9% in 2025, followed by 1.8% in 2026. Among the Industrialized regions, the U.S. economy is expected to grow the fastest this year, at a 2.7% rate, while Japan’s forecast is for 1.1%, and Europe is estimated at 1.0%. For Emerging Economies (China, India, Russia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, etc.) growth forecasts call for 4.2% in 2025 and 4.3% in 2026. The clear leaders are expected to be India and China, with average growth for the two years of 6.5% and 4.5%, respectively. These growth nations have different drivers: population growth in India, which points toward commodity and industrial-based infrastructure products; and productivity growth in China, which suggests s
