Nigerian EconomyNigerian EconomyAll values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollarsThe economy of Nigeria is a middle income, mixed economy emerging market with well-developed financial, legal, communications, transport, and entertainment sectors. It is ranked 31st in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) as of 2009, and its emergent, though currently underperforming manufacturing sector is the second-largest on the continent, producing a large proportion of goods and services for the West African region.
Previously hindered by years of mismanagement, economic reforms of the past decade have put Nigeria back on track towards achieving its full economic potential. Nigerian GDP at purchasing power parity more than doubled from $170.7 billion in 2005 to $374.3 billion in 2010, although estimates of the size of the informal sector (which is not included in official figures) put the actual numbers closer to $520 billion. Correspondingly, the GDP per capita doubled from $1200 per person in 2005 to an estimated $2,500 per person in 2009 (again, with the inclusion of the informal sector, it is estimated that GDP per capita hovers around $3,500 per person). It is the largest economy in the West Africa Region, 3rd largest economy in Africa (behind South Africa and Egypt), and on track to becoming one of the top 30 economies in the world in the early part of 2011.
The Nigerian government is focused on the economic and social well being of the people of Nigeria, particularly in regards to education and government services. There is a strong belief within the government that there is no room for further government expenditure, leading to a lack of funds for development and a lack of transparency on the spending of these funds.
For the last three years, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released its annual estimates of the national economy with the aim of identifying the main sectors that produce. Using data from various services (including health care and social assistance), they reported that, although the growth has slowed in the last year, the economic balance between the state and private sector continues to improve. The growth rate is expected to exceed 5 percent in the next 15-18 years.
The economy is expected to grow at nearly 2 percent per year per year for a period of three decades.
Economic growth is predicted to be a 2.5 percent growth rate among the nation’s primary education, health services and a large share of general employment. In addition, the state’s employment rate has increased from 15 percent in 2009 to 40 percent in 2014 (although it still has a 2 percent poverty rate).
For the government’s fiscal year 2014, the government spent EUR 28.5 billion on health care, welfare, education and health maintenance. This was an increase of nearly EUR 5,000 per capita.
Despite the ongoing problems in the health care sector, both Nigeria and the West Africans have maintained a good level of quality of life. Among education and training, the state’s progress is a marked three-fold. On an annual average, the number of students who graduated from higher education dropped from 3,906 in 2005 to 2,962 in 2011.
The improvement in health conditions has been mainly due to the rise in the number of hospital beds available for medical treatment.
In terms of education – there is a 5.36 percent increase in the number of textbooks and reading aids.
There is a substantial increase in the number of technical staff available in the fields of electrical engineering, mathematics and chemistry (see Figure 31).
In terms of training, the government has continued to improve the number of specialists in these areas (see Table 32).
The country has the third most skilled workers on earth, following Nigeria and Sudan.
Economic performance in Nigeria has increased since its recovery from the oil crisis. As a result of these improvement, the country is showing improvements in the employment rate in recent years.
Despite these improvements, Nigeria’s economic growth is forecast to rate below the world average of only 1 percent per year by 2037. In 2015, this rate surpassed the world average and it is expected that the rate could well increase by nearly 2 percent in 2030. To be assured of this forecast, it is possible that the government will pursue other economic measures to achieve growth over the coming years.
Summary
The following statistics for Nigeria show the performance of the country in the past three years that reflects several factors that contributed to the government’s economic transformation:
Overall, the government has achieved improvement in many sectors ranging from health care, education and training, to the level of government.
The current GDP and private sector performance can be attributed to a positive combination of two factors: improved economic management and a strengthened national
Although much has been made of its status as a major exporter of oil, Nigeria produces only about 3.3% of the worlds supply, and though it is ranked as 15th in production at 2.2 million barrels per day (mbpd), the top 3 producers Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States produce 10.7mbpd (16.8%), 9.8mbpd (15.4%), and 8.5mbpd (13.4%) respectively, collectively accounting for 63.6mpd (45.4%) of the worlds total production. [2] To put oil revenues in perspective: at an estimated export rate of 1.9mbd, with a projected sales price of $65 per barrel in 2011, Nigerias anticipated revenue from petroleum is about $52.2 billion. This accounts for less than 14% of official GDP figures (and drops to 10% when the informal economy is included in these calculations). Therefore, though the petroleum sector is important, it remains in fact a small part of the countrys overall vibrant and diversified economy.
The largely subsistence agricultural sector has not kept up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now imports some of its food products. In 2006, Nigeria successfully convinced the Paris Club to let it buy back the bulk of its debts owed to the Paris Club for a cash payment of roughly $12 billion (USD).[3]
Contents [hide]1 Overview2 Macro-economic trend2.1 Agriculture2.2 Industry2.3 Services2.3.1 Transport3 Labor force4 Gradual reform4.1 Diversification5 Investment6 Foreign economic relations6.1 External trade6.2 Remittances6.3 Debt6.4 Foreign investment6.5 Swiss Banks to return Abacha Funds7 Economic assistance8 Data9 References10 External links[edit]OverviewNigerias economy is struggling to leverage the countrys vast wealth in fossil fuels in order to displace the crushing poverty that affects about 57 percent of its population. Economists refer to the coexistence of vast wealth in natural resources and extreme personal poverty in developing countries like Nigeria as the “resource curse”. Nigerias exports of oil and natural gas—at a time of peak prices—have enabled the country to post merchandise trade and current account surpluses in recent years. Reportedly, 80 percent of Nigerias energy revenues flow to the government, 16 percent cover operational costs, and the remaining 4 percent go to investors. However, the World Bank has estimated that as a result of corruption 80 percent of energy revenues benefit only 1 percent of the population. In 2005, Nigeria achieved a milestone agreement with the Paris Club of lending nations to eliminate all of its bilateral external debt. Under the agreement, the lenders will forgive most of the debt, and Nigeria will pay off the remainder with a portion of