OIC Economic Outlook 2026: Navigating Growth, Transformation and Global Uncertainty

SESRIC's October 2026 outlook reports that OIC economies grew 4.1% in 2025, ahead of the 3.5% world rate, and that aggregate GDP reached about US$10.04 trillion, roughly 8.5% of world output. Growth is projected to ease to 3.1% in 2026 before recovering to 4.6% in 2027. Intra-OIC trade is estimated at US$555 billion, or 20.1% of members' merchandise trade, still short of the 25% target in the OIC-2025 Programme of Action. The merchandise balance has moved from a US$390.5 billion surplus in 2022 to a US$237.7 billion deficit in 2025, debt service has risen 16.9% to US$352.4 billion, and import cover in reserves has fallen from 8.7 to 6.7 months. The report flags the Middle East conflict, commodity volatility, tighter financing and aid cuts as the main risks, and urges more domestic value addition, deeper intra-OIC supply chains, sound public finances and more productive jobs for young people and women. Why it matters: the gap between a 25% trade target and a 20% outcome is a measure of institutional follow-through, and the report is a clear baseline for judging whether members' shared commitments are being built into practice.

This is a QeRN summary by Ahmed Qerni. Read the original at SESRIC / COMCEC: https://www.comcec.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/OIC-Economic-Outlook.pdf.