Bank of Korea Lifts Economic Growth Forecast for 2025, 2026

Seoul: The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its economic growth forecast for the Republic of Korea to 1 percent for 2025, citing a recovery in consumption and strong export performance. According to Emirates News Agency, the revision by BOK marks a 0.1 percentage-point increase from its previous forecast of 0.9 percent issued in August. For 2026, the central bank lifted its growth outlook to 1.8 percent from the earlier projection of 1.6 percent. It also expected the economy to expand 1.9 percent in 2027. The revised outlook broadly aligned with forecasts from other institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected growth of 0.9 percent this year and 1.8 percent next year, while the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) projected 1 percent growth this year and 2.2 percent in 2026.