Nigeria’s economy will more than double in the next 15 years, according to projections from the United States Department of Agriculture. Today, with an annual GDP of around $500 billion, Africa’s largest economy is 27th in the world. By 2030 it is expected to climb up to 19th place just ahead of the Netherlands.
Nigeria’s economy, which has been expanding by about 7% annually for the last decade, is largely dependent on oil. But other industries such as the booming film and telecommunications sectors, as well as manufacturing, have picked up in recent years. The country’s economy was rebased last year giving more weight to these newer sectors meaning Nigeria overtook South Africa as the continent’s economic powerhouse.
Of course, that still leaves it trailing behind the world’s richest countries. The top economies in the world, the United States and China, will reach over $20 trillion in GDP by 2030. Nigeria will still come in behind Russia, Mexico, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.
