The International Monetary Fund (IMF) kept its growth estimate for South Korea's economy at 3.7 percent for 2014 on Tuesday while predicting Asia's fourth-largest economy will expand 4 percent next year.

"In Korea, growth should rise from 3.7 percent this year to 4.0 percent in 2015, led by exports and investment," the Washington-headquartered institute said in its new World Economic Outlook issued ahead of the 2014 fall meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

The estimate for this year's growth is the same as the lending agency forecast in April. But the estimate for next year's growth is up 0.2 percentage point from 3.8 percent forecast in April.

The revised forecasts are in line with the estimates of South Korea's government.

The IMF forecast the global economy will expand 3.3 percent this year, slightly down from a 3.4 percent forecast in July. It said, however, that the world economic growth will pick up speed next year, rising to 3.8 percent.

The weaker-than-expected growth outlook for 2014 reflects setbacks to economic activity in advanced economies during the first half of 2014, and a less optimistic outlook for several emerging markets, the report said.

In advanced economies, growth is forecast to increase to 1.8 percent in 2014 and 2.3 percent in 2015, the IMF said. It raised this year's growth forecast for the U.S. economy to 2.2 percent from July's 1.7 percent while putting next year's growth estimate at 3 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from July.

The IMF also forecast emerging economies will expand 4.4 percent this year, which is slightly lower from July's estimate of

4.6 percent. Emerging economies are expected to grow 5 percent next year, it said.

Its forecast for China remained the same as July's estimate at 7.4 percent for this year and 7.1 percent for next year. (Yonhap)