World Economic Outlook (WEO)

About World Economic Outlook (WEO):

• It is a comprehensive report published twice a year by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• The WEO is usually published in April and October, followed by the less comprehensive WEO updates in July and January.
• It includes the IMF's estimates and forecasts for global output growth and inflation as well as for real gross domestic product (GDP) growth, consumer prices, current account balances, and unemployment in the IMF’s 190 member countries, grouped by region and development status. 
• The WEO also includes several chapters on selected pressing economic issues.
• The data is drawn from IMF representatives' consultations with member countries, and is included in the WEO database.
• Highlights of the recent report:
  • Global growth is expected to remain stable, yet underwhelming, at 3.2% in 2024 and 2025.
  • For India, the IMF has maintained its GDP growth estimate at 7% for 2024, followed by 6.5% next year, but linked the moderation in growth from last year to the exhaustion of “pent-up demand accumulated during the pandemic.
  • The world's largest economy, the United States, is poised to grow at 2.8% in 2024 and 2.2% in 2025. Meanwhile, the IMF expects China's economy to grow at 4.8% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2025.
  • The IMF's overall forecast for emerging markets and developing economies remained stable for the next two years in its latest outlook, hovering around 4.2% and steadying at 3.9% by 2029.

Q1: What is gross domestic product (GDP)?

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period. As a broad measure of overall domestic production, it functions as a comprehensive scorecard of a given country’s economic health.

News: Why the global economic slowdown is here to stay for now