Recent numbers coming from Nigeria's Gross Domestic product rebasing exercise are suggesting that the African country's GDP could rise to as high as 65% in the next year. This would place Nigeria's economy as the largest in Africa with GDP up as much as 432 Billion. These figures also suggest that Nigeria's economy has been vastly underestimated over the years. Sources say that this has been due to poor estimating in their nations economy. Services, a major component of GDP, is one of the leading sectors in which has been underestimated. According to the article, another major sector that has been hugely underestimated has been the entertainment part of the economy. “Our records show that we are underestimating the entertainment sector by over 200 percent from the numbers that we are seeing so far,” he told BusinessDay. One significance of the new figures is also that the GDP per capita could increase to over $2,600 from around $1,700, taking Nigeria into the middle income class. This is really interesting because Nigeria may have the biggest economy in Africa and no one new about it.
http://businessdayonline.com/2014/01/nigerias-economy-to-show-65-increase-in-size-on-gdp-rebasing/
I find it quite interesting the the Nigerian economy has been so poorly recorded until now, but I am glad to see that an effort is being made to get the records straight. If Nigeria's economy has been this poorly documented thus far, it seems logical that many other African nations could have the same problem. The implications of the accurate studies could prove beneficial for decision making, now that leaders know what is actually happening.
ReplyDelete