Following the recent GDP rebase which saw Nigeria displace South Africa as Africa’s largest economy, global financial rating firm Moody’s has forecast exponential growth in Nigeria’s GDP, predicting a rise to $4.5 trillion by 2050.
This is expected to elevate Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer and most populous country, to the bracket of the top 15 largest economies, rivaling top European countries like Holland.
The rating agency noted that with the economic advantage of a population that exceeds 170 million, backed by oil reserves reaching 28 percent of the continent’s total, Nigeria is set to experience soaring growth in the coming years.
“Nigeria is likely to number among the world’s 15 largest economies by 2050 when GDP is projected to exceed $4.5 trillion in purchasing power parity terms,” Aurelien Mali, VP-Senior Analyst, Moody’s, was quoted by Business Day.
Moody’s new forecast was largely fuelled by the rebasing of Nigeria’s GDP that pegged its economy at $510 billion, depicting a clearer picture of the country’s present economic resurgence.
The latest GDP reveals greater diversity within the economy – a welcome development from its solely oil-driven composition – highlighting major contributions from sectors including telecommunication and entertainment sectors (notably Nigeria’s movie industry, Nollywood), which were previously marginal donors to GDP.
Nigeria’s ranking has also move from a 36th to 28th position in global economy size.
