IMF raises Taiwan's 2025 GDP growth forecast to 2.9%

Washington, April 22 (CNA) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised Taiwan's 2025 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 2.9 percent, outpacing other regional countries including Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

The IMF's April 2025 World Economic Outlook report, published Tuesday, noted that the imposition of sweeping tariffs by the United States was "resetting the global trade system and giving rise to uncertainty" that is testing the resilience of the global economy.

Given that uncertainty, the IMF said it was estimating global economic growth of 2.8 percent in 2025 and 3.0 percent in 2026, down 0.5 and 0.3 percentage points, respectively, from its last forecast in January.

As for Taiwan, the report predicted that Taiwan's economy would grow by 2.9 percent in 2025 -- a figure 0.2 percentage points higher than its previous forecast in October of last year -- and 2.5 percent in 2026.

In 2024, Taiwan's economy grew by 4.3 percent, the report noted.

Meanwhile, the IMF predicted Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation) will rise by 1.8 percent in 2025, well below the 4.3 percent forecast globally.

Taiwan's CPI growth will tick lower in 2026, to 1.6 percent, the report said.

In addition, the unemployment rate in Taiwan is expected to remain at 3.4 percent in both 2025 and 2026, the IMF said.

Elsewhere in East Asia, the IMF forecast 2025 GDP growth of 0.6 percent in Japan, 4.0 percent in China, 1.0 percent in South Korea, 2.0 percent in Singapore and 1.5 percent in Hong Kong.

The United Nations-affiliated financial agency also forecast 2025 CPI growth of 2.4 percent in Japan, 0.0 percent in China, 1.8 percent in South Korea, 1.3 percent in Singapore and 1.9 percent in Hong Kong, according to the report.

The U.S. economy, the world's largest, is expected to grow at a rate 1.8 percent in 2025 (down from 2.8 percent in 2024), with inflation at 3.0 percent, the report said.