Canada's economy will outpace that of most developed economies this year, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.

IMF research director Olivier Blanchard raised the body's outlook for the Canadian economy in 2010 on Thursday (Thomas Dooley/Associated Press)

The IMF raised its growth estimate for Canada to 3.6 per cent for 2010, a half a percentage point higher than its previous 3.1 per cent figure.

That's well ahead of the IMF's estimates for the United States economy, projected to expand by 3.3 per cent this year. But it's below the group's forecast for the global economy as a whole, pegged at 4.6 per cent.

The IMF, a Washington-based multinational organization affiliated with the United Nations and the World Bank, said Europe's debt crisis might stall the global rebound and governments need to shore up shaky public confidence.

"The numbers for economic activity have come in strong — in fact, stronger than we have forecast," said Olivier Blanchard, director of the IMF's research department.

The IMF's global estimate was raised from its previous projection of 4.2 per cent. That's led by ambitious projections of 10.5 per cent growth for China and 9.4 per cent in India this year.

While the group upped its forecast for Canada this year, it lowered its forecast for 2011 to 2.8 per cent, down from its previous forecast of 3.2 per cent.