IMF Forecast 2025: Indian Economy To Grow At 6.5%; Highest Growth Rate Among Global Peers

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), on Friday projected that the Indian economy will grow at 6.5 per cent in the year 2025. Interestingly, the growth rate of the Indian economy is the highest among its global peers. 

Noting that the post-pandemic economic cycle is ending, the IMF, in its latest economic forecast said that the global growth will ‘likely remain steady at 3.3% this year and next, but with divergences between countries’. “Inflation is declining, with global rates expected to fall to 4.2% this year and 3.5% in 2026, nearing central bank targets,” it further added.

In India, growth is projected to be solid at 6.5 per cent in 2025 and 2026, as projected in October and in line with potential - IMF said in its detailed report. 

According to the IMF forecast, the US economy will grow at 2.7 per cent, and China's economy is expected to grow at 4.6 per cent. Among notable others, Germany's growth rate is expected to improve from -0.2 per cent to 0.3 per cent, along with Japan, which will likely grow at 1.1 per cent.

The India growth story is expected to continue as the emerging market and developing Asian economy is likely to continue its growth momentum at 6.5 per cent - the same at which it grew in 2024.

To give a perspective, global growth is projected at 3.3 per cent both in 2025 and 2026, below the historical (2000–19) average of 3.7 per cent. The forecast for 2025 is broadly unchanged from that in the October 2024 World Economic Outlook (WEO), primarily on account of an upward revision in the United States offsetting downward
revisions in other major economies. 

“Global headline inflation is expected to decline to 4.2 per cent in 2025 and to 3.5 per cent in 2026, converging back to target earlier in advanced economies than in emerging markets and developing economies,” IMF further added.