The World Bank has said that growth in Nigeria is anticipated to edge up to 2.2% in 2020.

This is contained in its latest global growth estimate released in Washington DC.

The Multilateral Financial institution said, “Regional growth in Sub Sahara Africa is expected to accelerate to 3.3 per cent in 2020, assuming that investor sentiment toward some of the large economies of the region improves, that oil production will recover in large exporters, and that robust growth in non-resource-intensive economies will be underpinned by continued strong agricultural production and sustained public investment. 

It further said “While per capita GDP is expected to rise in the region, it will nevertheless be insufficient to significantly reduce poverty. In 2020, growth in South Africa is anticipated to rise to 1.5 per cent; growth in Angola is anticipated to pick up to 2.9 per cent; and growth in Nigeria is anticipated to edge up to 2.2 per cent  in 2020”. 

The World Bank in its global estimate said in its June 2019 Global Economic Prospects: Heightened Tensions, Subdued Investment. “Global economic growth is forecast to ease to a weaker-than-expected 2.6 per cent in 2019 before inching up to 2.7 per cent in 2020. Growth in emerging market and developing economies is expected to stabilise next year as some countries move past periods of financial strain, but economic momentum remains weak. Emerging and developing economy growth is constrained by sluggish investment, and risks are tilted to the downside. These risks include rising trade barriers, renewed financial stress, and sharper-than-expected slowdowns in several major economies”.  It said that structural problems that misallocate or discourage investment also weigh on the outlook.

World Bank Group President David Malpass said“Stronger economic growth is essential to reducing poverty and improving living standards, current economic momentum remains weak, while heightened debt levels and subdued investment growth in developing economies are holding countries back from achieving their potential. It’s urgent that countries make significant structural reforms that improve the business climate and attract investment. They also need to make debt management and transparency a high priority so that new debt adds to growth and investment.”