IMF Projects AI Investment Boom to Add Up to 0.8% to Global GDP Growth
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, says the Fund expects the rapid global investment in artificial intelligence (AI) to add between 0.1% and 0.8% to global gross domestic product (GDP) over the medium term.
Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, October 16, 2025, on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, Ms. Georgieva said the growing adoption of AI technologies could deliver a “significant boost” to productivity and long-term global economic growth.
“AI would be a valuable contribution to productivity and growth. Our assessment shows that AI could contribute somewhere between 0.1% and 0.8% to global GDP,” she stated. “Remember, we are stuck in this around 3% growth. If AI can push that higher, it would be very significant for the world.”
AI Readiness and Uneven Global Preparedness
The IMF Chief revealed that the Fund has conducted an assessment of AI preparedness across 74 countries, evaluating them on four key criteria: digital infrastructure, innovation and economic integration, sectoral penetration, and regulation and ethics.
“In other words, we looked at how AI makes a difference in transport, agriculture, and healthcare,” she explained. “The fourth area, regulation and ethics, is the trickiest. When we rank countries, there is a very wide distribution — with some advanced and emerging economies in the top one-third, while many low-income countries lag behind.”
Ms. Georgieva warned that while AI has the potential to boost global productivity, it could also widen economic inequalities both within and across countries if technological adoption remains uneven.
“The risk we see is that we may end up in a world in which AI drives increasing productivity but also becomes a source of divergence,” she said. “Countries don’t have much time to prepare for AI. They need to act now.”
Global Growth Outlook Remains Weak
According to the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) for October 2025, global output growth is projected to slow from 3.3% in 2024 to 3.2% in 2025, before further declining to 3.1% in 2026.
The Fund attributes this slowdown to persistent structural weaknesses, elevated public debt, and subdued productivity growth in many economies — factors that could be mitigated if AI’s potential is harnessed effectively.
“The challenge is ensuring that all countries — especially developing ones — can participate in and benefit from the AI revolution,” Georgieva stressed.
