Washington, May 14, 2025 (Lusa) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its economic growth forecast for Angola in 2025 downwards from 3% to 2.4% and warned of risks to budget performance.

The IMF's conclusions were released after a post-financing assessment mission led by Mika Saito, which took place between 6 and 12 May, which will prepare a report to be discussed by the IMF's Executive Board in July 2025.

The IMF highlights that Angola's economic growth in 2024 was "robust", reaching 4.4%, driven by increased oil production and the recovery of the non-oil sector, but warns that the outlook has deteriorated, creating risks due to falling oil prices and restrictive external financing conditions.

"Consequently, the preliminary growth projection for 2025 has been revised downwards from 3% to 2.4% during the Article IV consultation [bilateral consultation process that the IMF conducts with its member countries to review the country's economic developments and policies] , with inflation expected to continue to decline gradually," the IMF said.

The downward revision of the economic outlook “also poses risks to fiscal performance,” the institution said in a statement.

The IMF team added that it is "confident" in the authorities' determination to "contain emerging risks and identify essential mitigation measures to preserve macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, while protecting the most vulnerable and growth momentum."

Post-financing assessments (PFA) are planned for countries to which the IMF has lent money but which are no longer under a Fund programme. They aim to assess the country's policies, whether its economy is stable and sustainable, and whether the member country has the capacity to repay the Fund.

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