Ghana will be world's fastest growing economy in 2011 - IMF

The International Monetary Fund has predicted that Ghana’s economy will be the fastest growing in the world this year.

This was revealed at a briefing session by an IMF team visiting Ghana to conduct a review of the nation’s progress under the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility program.


Leader of the team, Christina Daseking said Ghana’s economy is experiencing a tremendous growth stimulated by government’s fiscal consolidation and the burgeoning oil production.


She said her prediction was based on the projections the IMF was making for the country.


She however cautioned the immense growth would come along with some risks.


The risks, she said, can arise from adverse economic development in the rest of the world. Risks can also arise internally resulting from issues such as overspending.


The IMF’s prediction confirms an earlier report by the Economy Watch which also ranked Ghana as the fastest economic growing country in the world ahead of even China.

Meanwhile, Rapid Growth Markets (RGMs) including Ghana have been predicted to grow by 6.2% this year and by 5.9% in 2012 compared with 1.6% for the Eurozone this year falling to 1.1% next year.


This is according to Ernst & Young’s latest quarterly economic forecast which offers insight on macroeconomic trends across 25 RGMs.


According to the report, the dynamics of the global economy have changed with a new set of fast-growing markets challenging the position of the established advanced economies.


The RGM’s selected based on the size of the economy and population, strategic importance for business and proven strong growth and future potential included Ghana and 3 other African economies, namely South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt.


The report projects the Rapid Growth Markets to collectively grow almost four times more than the anaemic growth expected in the Eurozone. It adds the disorderly Eurozone debt crisis could however lead to growth in RGMs dropping to 4.1% in 2012.