Nigeria has been named the world’s 3rd fastest growing economy in 2015 after China and Qatar, according to CNN Money’s estimation.
That’s the view of a growing number of economists, many of whom think China’s economy will continue to slow this year and next, while Nigeria reaps the benefits of lower oil prices and policy reforms.
The International Monetary Fund became the latest organization to make the call, on Tuesday projecting that Nigeria’s economy will be the 3rd fastest growing in 2015.
Nigeria is now Africa’s largest economy and is ranked 26th in the world in terms of GDP (based on rebased figures announced in April 2014).
The Nigerian economy is also on track to become one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020. Its re-emergent, though currently underperforming, manufacturing sector is the third-largest on the continent, and produces a large proportion of goods and services for the West African region.
Nigeria recently changed its economic analysis to account for rapidly growing contributors to its GDP, such as telecommunications, banking, and its film industry. As a result of this statistical revision, Nigeria has added 89% to its GDP, making it the largest African economy.
Nigerian GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) has almost tripled from $170 billion in 2000 to $451 billion in 2012, although estimates of the size of the informal sector (which is not included in official figures) put the actual numbers closer to $630 billion.
Correspondingly, the GDP per capita doubled from $1400 per person in 2000 to an estimated $2,800 per person in 2012 (again, with the inclusion of the informal sector, it is estimated that GDP per capita hovers around $3,900 per person). Population increased from 120 million in 2000 to 160 million in 2010.
These figures are to be revised upwards by as much as 80% when metrics are recalculated subsequent to the rebasing of its economy in April 2014.
