Middle East growth hardest hit from Iran war, IMF says
Growth across the Middle East and North Africa region has bore the biggest brunt of the Iran conflict, significantly eroding regional output and progress.
The MENA region’s growth is expected to slow down to 1.1% in 2026, from 3.2% last year, before recovering to 4.8% in 2027, as the region faces the most direct impact of the current war, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated. The region's 2026 growth forecast has been lowered by 2.8 percentage points from the fund's January projections.
For commodity exporters directly affected by the conflict, diminished production and exports imply a severe downward revision of GDP growth projections for 2026, the fund said in its latest World Economic Output (WEO) update released this week.
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