The global economy is expected to grow 3.1% in 2026, with strong investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure helping offset the impact of the prolonged war in the Middle East and elevated energy prices, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday. However, the multilateral lender warned that downside risks are mounting, with rising debt burdens and an increasingly uneven distribution of growth threatening the global outlook.
In its latest World Economic Outlook, released as global economic and financial leaders gather in Bangkok for the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, the IMF raised its 2026 global growth forecast marginally from the 3.0% projected in July. The new estimate is below the 3.5% expansion recorded in 2025 but broadly in line with the fund's most optimistic scenario outlined in April.
