NASSAU, BAHAMAS- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slightly upgraded its 2025 economic growth forecast for The Bahamas, projecting a 1.8 percent increase, up from 1.7 percent previously. The improvement contrasts the global economic outlook, which has been downgraded amid growing uncertainty and turbulence in trade policies, particularly from the United States.
The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook highlights that global growth is now expected to slow to 2.8 percent in 2025, a significant drop from the 3.3 percent projected in January. The report attributes the downward revision largely to the “swift escalation of trade tensions” and the “extremely high levels of policy uncertainty” stemming from recent U.S. tariff measures. These developments have created what the IMF calls “a major negative shock to growth,” not just for the U.S. economy but for global markets overall.
While the U.S. growth outlook has been reduced to 1.8 percent, down nearly a full percentage point, the IMF said The Bahamas’ growth remains resilient. It also noted a slight uptick in The Bahamas’ 2026 projection, from 1.6 to 1.7 percent.