Asia-Pacific and Africa are pulling ahead of other emerging regions in the near-term growth outlook. Asia-Pacific leads the four regions at 4.9% growth in 2025, closely followed by Africa at 4.5%, while the Middle East and Latin America & the Caribbean trail at 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively.

The IMF outlook suggests these differences will persist through 2027, even as growth moderates across several economies. The regional averages, however, conceal very different country stories. Africa’s strong headline rate sits alongside sharp volatility among fast-growing economies including South Sudan, Libya, Ethiopia, Senegal and Benin.

Asia-Pacific shows a broader growth profile, with India, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan maintaining relatively strong rates, while Taiwan follows a more variable path.

In the Middle East, the UAE and Saudi Arabia follow a more moderate regional trajectory, while Lebanon and Bahrain show the region’s greater volatility.

Latin America & the Caribbean provides perhaps the clearest warning against reading too much into individual high-growth economies. Guyana’s extraordinary oil-driven expansion stands far above the regional average, while Paraguay, Aruba, Nicaragua and Costa Rica follow much more modest trajectories.

For businesses and investors, emerging-region growth remains comparatively strong, but opportunity is increasingly shaped by country-level differences rather than regional labels alone.