$510bn GDP: Nigeria now Africa’s largest economy, 26th globally

10 years ago | Posted in: Business | 768 Views

ABUJA — Nigeria’s nominal Gross Domestic Product, GDP, now stands at $509.9 billion, making the nation’s economy the largest in Africa and the 26th in the world, according to the preliminary results of the rebasing exercise of the federal government.

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, announced this at a press conference jointly addressed with the Statistician-General, S-G, Dr. Yemi Kale, in Abuja yesterday.

The GDP is the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. It is an internationally recognized indicator for measuring the size of an economy in a given period of time.

The rebased estimates indicate that the nominal GDP for Nigeria was much higher than previously estimated . In 2010 the estimate was $360. 644 billion; in 2011 it was $408.805 billion; and 2012 $453.966 billion.

The growth rate is driven by the services sector with it contributing about 51 per cent of the GDP.

The rebasing exercise on the Nigerian economy which also saw the Per capita rising to $2, 688, covered 2010 to 2013. Nigeria has moved on the per capita scale from 135 to 121st position.

This is after more than two decades of the last exercise in 1990, far beyond the United Nations Statistical Commission, UNSC, recommendations that countries should rebase their national accounts (GDP) estimates every five years.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that the results had been subjected to a six-man independent panel of reviewers led by Prof. Olu Ajakaiye , as well as, representatives of multilateral organizations, especially the International Monetary Fund, the World bank and the African Development bank.

According to her the policy implications of the new figures were that the nation has a larger capacity for consumption and thus make Nigeria more attractive to international and local investors… see more

source: vanguardngr.com

 

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