## World Economic Outlook, April 2025: A Critical Juncture amid Policy Shifts _World Economic Outlook, April 2025_ ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [World Economic Outlook, April 2025: A Critical Juncture amid Policy Shifts](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2025/04/22/world-economic-outlook-april-2025) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/publications/weo/issues/2025/04/22/world-economic-outlook-april-2025/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/weo/issues/2025/04/22/world-economic-outlook-april-2025/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/weo/issues/2025/04/22/world-economic-outlook-april-2025/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Published: April 22, 2025 --- ### Overview - The latest World Economic Outlook reports a slowdown in global growth as downside risks intensify. - Governments worldwide are reordering policy priorities and uncertainties have climbed to new highs. - Forecasts for global growth have been revised markedly down compared with the January 2025 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update, reflecting effective tariff rates at levels not seen in a century and a highly unpredictable environment. - Global headline inflation is expected to decline at a slightly slower pace than what was expected in January. - The estimates and projections in the April 2025 WEO Chapter 1 and Statistical Appendix are based on statistical information available through April 14, 2025, but may not reflect the latest published data in all cases. ### Global prospects and downside risks (Chapter 1 highlights) - Global growth is projected to decline after a period of steady but underwhelming performance, amid policy shifts and new uncertainties. - Risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside. - Intensifying downside risks include: - Escalating trade tensions and elevated policy-induced uncertainty. - Divergent and swiftly changing policy positions or deteriorating sentiment that could lead to even tighter global financial conditions. - Ratcheting up a trade war and heightened trade policy uncertainty that may further hinder both short-term and long-term growth prospects. - Shifting policies that could lead to abrupt tightening of global financial conditions and capital outflows, particularly impacting emerging markets. - More limited international development assistance that could push low-income countries deeper into debt and jeopardize living standards. - At this critical juncture, policies need to be calibrated to foster international cooperation while ensuring internal economic stability, thereby helping reduce global imbalances. ### Demographics and the "silver economy" (Chapter 2 highlights) - Chapter 2: The Rise of the Silver Economy: Global Implications of Population Aging explores healthy aging and its economic effects. - Key findings: - Population aging poses challenges such as slower growth and increased fiscal pressures. - Healthier aging trends offer a silver lining by boosting labor force participation, extending working lives, and enhancing productivity. - Policy implications and levers: - Implement policies that support healthy aging. - Increase labor force participation among older individuals. - Close gender gaps in the workforce to harness the potential of the silver economy. - These strategies can help boost growth and rebuild fiscal buffers amid demographic headwinds. ### Migration, refugees, and integration (Chapter 3 highlights) - Chapter 3: Journeys and Junctions: Spillovers from Migration and Refugee Policies examines how migrant and refugee policies alter flows and outcomes. - Key points: - Changes in the stringency of migrant and refugee policies can alter the journeys and legal pathways people choose. - Stricter policies can deflect flows to new destinations, generating short-term strains on local services but potential long-term benefits. - Costs are likely to be more severe where integration challenges are larger and skills are not well matched with local labor market needs—particularly in emerging market and developing economies. - Benefits can materialize sooner by boosting infrastructure investment and promoting private sector development. - International cooperation can help by more evenly distributing short-term costs across economies. ### Policy recommendations and priorities - Promote a stable and predictable trade environment and facilitate international cooperation to support a more resilient global economy. - Calibrate policies to rebalance growth-inflation trade-offs, rebuild buffers, and reinvigorate medium-term growth to reduce both internal and external imbalances. - Implement policies that promote healthy aging and enhance labor force participation among older individuals and women to stimulate growth and ease fiscal pressures (as discussed in Chapter 2). - Foster productivity growth by better integrating migrants and refugees and mitigating skill mismatches (as detailed in Chapter 3). - Address policy gaps and structural imbalances at home while working constructively at the international level to secure internal and external economic stability. *Source: World Economic Outlook, April 2025: A Critical Juncture amid Policy Shifts (statistical information through April 14, 2025).* --- ## Content in this bundle - **CHAPTER 1 GLOBAL PROSPECTS AND POLICIES** - [CHAPTER 1 GLOBAL PROSPECTS AND POLICIES (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2024/october/english/ch1.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [CHAPTER 1 GLOBAL PROSPECTS AND POLICIES (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2024/october/english/ch1.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **ch1** - [ch1 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch1.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [ch1 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch1.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **ch1onlineannex — Section 1 and Section 2** - [ch1onlineannex — Section 1 and Section 2 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch1onlineannex.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [ch1onlineannex — Section 1 and Section 2 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch1onlineannex.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **ch2** - [ch2 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch2.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [ch2 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch2.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Online Annex 2.2. Healthy Aging** - [Online Annex 2.2. Healthy Aging (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch2onlineannex.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Online Annex 2.2. Healthy Aging (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch2onlineannex.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **ch3** - [ch3 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch3.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [ch3 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch3.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **CHAPTER 3 ONLINE ANNEX: JOURNEYS AND JUNCTIONS — SPILLOVERS FROM MIGRATION AND REFUGEE POLICIES** - [CHAPTER 3 ONLINE ANNEX: JOURNEYS AND JUNCTIONS — SPILLOVERS FROM MIGRATION AND REFUGEE POLICIES (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch3onlineannex.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [CHAPTER 3 ONLINE ANNEX: JOURNEYS AND JUNCTIONS — SPILLOVERS FROM MIGRATION AND REFUGEE POLICIES (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/ch3onlineannex.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **COMMODITy SPECIAL FEATURE MARKET DEVELOPMENTS AND ThE IMPACT OF AI ON ENERGy DEMAND** - [COMMODITy SPECIAL FEATURE MARKET DEVELOPMENTS AND ThE IMPACT OF AI ON ENERGy DEMAND (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/commodityspecialfeature.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [COMMODITy SPECIAL FEATURE MARKET DEVELOPMENTS AND ThE IMPACT OF AI ON ENERGy DEMAND (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/commodityspecialfeature.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **EXECUTIVE SUMMARY** - [EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/execsum.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/execsum.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **FOREWORD** - [FOREWORD (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/foreword.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [FOREWORD (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/foreword.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **statsappendix** - [statsappendix (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/statsappendix.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [statsappendix (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/statsappendix.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **tablea** - [tablea (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/tablea.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [tablea (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/tablea.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **tableb** - [tableb (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/tableb.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [tableb (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/tableb.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **World Economic Outlook: A Critical Juncture Amid Policy Shifts — April 2025 (selected text)** - [World Economic Outlook: A Critical Juncture Amid Policy Shifts — April 2025 (selected text) (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/text.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [World Economic Outlook: A Critical Juncture Amid Policy Shifts — April 2025 (selected text) (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/text.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} --- ## References - [Previous Issues](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO) - [Database](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/April) - [DataMapper](https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/datasets/WEO) - [transcript](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/04/22/tr-04222025-weo-press-briefing) - [Press Conference](https://www.imf.org/en/Videos/view?vid=6371795490112) - [Blog](https://origin-blogs.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2025/04/22/the-global-economy-enters-a-new-era) - [Database](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/weo-database/2025/april) - [Chapter 1 Data](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/data/ch1data.zip) - [Chapter 2 Data](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/data/ch2data.zip) - [Panel Discussion](https://www.imf.org/en/Videos/view?vid=6371484331112) - [Chapter 3 Data](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/weo/2025/april/english/data/ch3data.zip) - [blog by imf staff](https://origin-blogs.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2025/04/15/migration-and-refugee-policies-steer-people-and-economies-in-new-directions) _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2025/04/22/world-economic-outlook-april-2025_