Malaysia’s growth outlook brightens as IMF raises 2026 GDP forecast to 4.7%

Malaysia is set for stronger economic growth after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its 2026 real GDP forecast to 4.7 per cent.

The revised projection represents an increase of 0.4 percentage points from its earlier estimate.

The IMF, in its April 2026 World Economic Outlook (WEO) released today, also projected the country’s economy to expand by 4.3 per cent in 2027.

In 2025, Malaysia recorded a strong growth of 5.2 per cent, supported by resilient domestic demand.

In its January 2026 WEO “Global Economy: Steady amid Divergent Forces”, the IMF previously set Malaysia’s 2026 GDP at 4.3 per cent.

According to Bernama, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) estimates Malaysia’s economy to grow between 4 per cent and 5 per cent this year, with the country’s domestic resilience and diversified export structure continuing to provide buffer to navigate the current external headwinds mainly from the conflict in West Asia.

The IMF projects global growth to be 3.1 per cent in 2026 and 3.2 per cent in 2027, slower than its recent pace of about 3.4 per cent in 2024-2025, and to settle at about that rate in the medium term, slower than its historical (2000-2019) average of 3.7 per cent.

The forecast for 2026 is revised downward by 0.2 percentage point and that for 2027 is unchanged.

IMF said growth in advanced economies is projected to be 1.8 per cent in 2026 and 1.7 per cent in 2027.

The overall effect on growth in advanced economies from the conflict in West Asia is modest, lowering growth by 0.2 percentage point in 2026 relative to the pre-conflict forecast, thanks to positive terms-of-trade effects in the United States and stronger growth momentum and offsetting government measures in Japan, with a large negative effect expected only in some net energy-importing economies, such as the eurozone and the United Kingdom.