The results of the latest rebasing of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP), the first in almost a quarter of a century, has seen Nigeria being the largest economy in Africa and 26th in the world.
This confirmation was made yesterday in Abuja by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
At a media briefing in collaboration with National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Ministry of National Planning, Ministry of Health as well as Ministry of Information, she said this confirms that the country’s economy has grown in total value and undergone significant changes, including substantial diversification in many sectors especially in the last decade.
According to the Statistician-General of the Federation and Head of the National Bureau of Statistics, Dr Yemi Kale: “The results reveal better diversification of the Nigerian economy than earlier reported, the structure of the Nigerian economy has changed significantly.”
This latest rebased GDP data has pushed Nigeria above South Africa as the continent’s biggest economy because it now includes previously uncounted industries like telecoms, information technology, music, online sales, airlines, and film production.
The Nigerian GDP for 2013 totalled N80.3 trillion (£307.6bn: $509.9bn), according to the NBS, compared with South Africa’s GDP of $370.3bn at the end of 2013.
A key finding is that the economy, like that of many other middle-income countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Egypt, is becoming more service-driven as the services sector has expanded significantly, Okonjo-Iweala added.
She said: “In response to the findings, the Federal Government is already restrategizing to take advantage of the opportunities provided by better knowledge of the changing structure of the economy. The policy direction will reflect even more the fact, like similar emerging market economies, that small and medium scale firms will increasingly play a more prominent role in the economy. “
