IMF: Spain remains the fastest-growing advanced economy
The agency raises its estimate by four-tenths for 2025, to 2.9%, and by two-tenths for next year, to 2%.
BarcelonaThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) has once again ranked Spain as the fastest-growing advanced economy. For this year, it has raised gross domestic product (GDP) growth by four-tenths of a percentage point compared to its estimate made last spring, to 2.9%, even higher than the Spanish government's forecast of 2.7%. And for next year, it estimates it will be 2%, two-tenths of a percentage point higher than the spring forecast.
This trend, which once again places Spain at the forefront of growth for the second consecutive year, contrasts with the eurozone's forecast of 1.2%, with Germany at 0.2% and France at 0.7%. The IMF's economic forecasts report, released Tuesday to coincide with the organization's annual meeting, estimates US growth of 1.2%.
Spanish government funds highlight the country's leadership in a context of geopolitical and trade uncertainty. Inflation in Spain is expected to moderate to an average of 2.4% in 2025 and 2.1% in 2026, according to the same projections.
According to the IMF report, the global economy is adjusting to an environment reshaped by new policy measures. Some higher tariffs "were softened through subsequent agreements and readjustments," but the overall environment remains "volatile," the report states.
As a result, global growth projections in the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report are revised upward compared to the April 2025 forecast, but still mark a downward revision relative to the forecasts prior to the policy change.
Global growth is forecast to slow from 3.3% in 2024 to 3.2% in 2025 and 3.1% in 2026, with advanced economies growing around 1.5% and emerging market and developing economies slightly above that. Inflation is expected to decline further globally, albeit with cross-country variations: above target in the United States—with risks tilted to the upside—and subdued elsewhere.