Nigeria becomes Africas largest economy – get the data Nigerias recalculation of gross domestic product data to include Nollywood nudges country well ahead of South Africa Nigeria is now the 24th largest economy in the world. Above: a traffic-congested road in Lagos, the countrys former capital. Photograph: Tim Graham/Alamy Tim Graham/Alamy Development data Nigeria Africa Global economy Economics Sponsored by: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Claire Provost Monday 7 April 2014 14.22 BST Nigeria has overtaken South Africa as the continents largest economy after it overhauled its gross domestic product data for the first time in more than two decades. Official figures for 2013, released by Nigerias statistics bureau, put the countrys GDP at $503bn (£307bn) – nearly double previous estimates and well ahead of South Africa at around $350bn. The announcement follows a protracted process to rebase Nigerias economic data and include information from sectors such as telecommunications and the film industry. The rebasing exercise has pushed the countrys GDP from 42.3tn naira in 2013 to 80.3tn naira ($509.9bn) – a jump of 89%. The revision pushes Nigeria up 12 places to become the 24th largest economy in the world – on par with Poland and Belgium and ahead of Argentina, Austria and Iran. Nigeria had not recalculated its GDP since 1990, something which many other governments do every few years. New sectors have been added to the countrys output list include e-commerce, telecommunications, music and Nollywood, which is estimated to be worth billions of dollars, or 1.4% of the economy. Note figures in millions of naira Shortly before the GDP announcement, the information minister, Labaran Maku, said: For the first time in 15 years, we will know, scientifically, what the GDP figure is and what the contributions of every sector to the economy are. We will also be able to know the sectors that have made the most progress and which ones are lagging behind. The data is likely to make Nigeria more attractive to foreign investors, with its economy appearing not only larger but more diverse than previously thought. Economic analysts had forecasted a jump closer to 40-60%. Several other African countries have recalculated their economic data recently, producing sharp rises in GDP estimates. A rebasing exercise in Ghana four years ago triggered a 60% increase. But Nigerias GDP figures will not on their own produce dramatic changes in living conditions. The rebasing excercise has almost doubled GDP per capita, placing it among middle-income countries. However, at just $3,000, per capita income is low – and well below South Africas at $7,336. Nigerians continue to struggle with poverty, inequality and electricity shortages. Yemi Kale of the National Bureau of Statistics said: While it [GDP] depicts how rich a nation is, this is not necessarily the same as showing how rich the individuals in the nation are, due to the problem of unequal distribution of wealth. Similarly, growth in GDP is not synonymous with job creation. It is expected that as the economy grows, peoples income rise and their demand for goods and services increase. As a result, producers increase output and employ more people so that employment increases. However, though jobs are being created, the jobs may not enough to reduce unemployment or poverty.
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 00:00:50 +0000
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