The latest World Economic Report stated that global growth was projected to slow to 3,7% this year.
The IMF said that the greatest risk came from the still-unfolding events in financial markets, particularly the potential for deep losses on structured credits related to the US subprime mortgage market and other sectors impair financial system balance sheets and cause the current credit squeeze to mutate into a full-blown credit crunch.
But while the US economy was likely to tip into a "mild recession" this year, growth in emerging and developing economies was expected to ease it would remain robust.
In sub-Saharan Africa, economic growth would slow from the 6,8% achieved in 2007 to 6,6% in 2008, and 6,7% in 2009.
The growth would continue to be led by oil exporters, reflecting the coming on stream of new production facilities in oil-exporting countries.
The IMF stated, however, that rising electricity shortages in South Africa, the region's largest economy, were expected to weigh on the activity during 2008/9.
South Africa's gross domestic product growth was expected to fall to 3,8% this year, from 5,1% a year earlier, and 5,4% in 2006.
"In South Africa...the pace of activity has eased modestly as tighter monetary policy, aimed at containing rising inflation pressures from food and fuel prices, has applied a brake on household spending, but investments continues to growth at a brisk pace in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup," the IFM said.
Countries in sub-Saharan Africa also became more attractive as destinations for private capital inflows. It said that private capital inflows reached record levels in 2007, led by strong foreign direct investments, but that the bulk of this was still focused on a few countries.