The Federal Government’s reformative moves to boost performance of the nation’s economy appears to be yielding no tangible results as the latest report by the World Bank Group on the African economy reflected that the country recorded an estimated GDP of $477.4 billion in 2022, which positioned it at 18th position on the continental ranking of countries by GDP per capita for the year in review.
The 2022 ranking showed that Nigeria notched one point up from the 19th position it ranked in the previous year when the GDP stood at $440.8 billion
According to the World Bank’s latest data, Nigeria recorded a 5.7% increase in its GDP per capita, which rose to $2,184 in 2022, from the $2,066 reported in the preceding year.
In terms of nominal GDP, the country’s economic performance demonstrated remarkable resilience, registering an 8.3% nominal year-over-year expansion in 2022, in spite of the whirlwinds across the global and regional economy.
Broadly analyzed, the World Bank’s report showed that the African economy slowed to 3.8% in 2022, dipping the continent’s nominal GDP to an estimated $2.75 trillion.
In addition, the report Indicated that the Sub-Saharan region recorded a slow growth rate of 3.6%, in contrast to 4.1% recorded in 2021, with a projected growth rate of 3.1% in 2023, due to what the bank attributed to sluggish global economic growth, high inflationary pressure, and tough financial conditions exacerbated by the high debt profiles of the countries in the continent.
A further analysis of the report in terms of GDP per capita, which is a more accurate measure of productivity in an economy, the continent’s economy recorded an average of $2,705 in 2022, indicating a 6.6% increase compared to $2,538 recorded in the previous year.
The report further covered the top 10 countries in Africa based on GDP per capita in 2022 with Seychelles topping the ranking table with an impressive GDP per capita standing at $15,875, followed by Mauritius, which recorded a 12.7% upswing in its GDP per capita, which climbed to $10,216; and Gabon which came third with 2.1% increase in its GDP per capita to $8,820 in 2022.
Others are in order of ranking, Botswana which came fourth, boasting an average GDP per capita of $7,738; Equatorial Guinea with a GDP per capita of $7,053 in 2022, representing a 6% decline compared to $7,507 in 2021; the 6th position in ranking was South Africa at $6,776 GDP per capital; Libya at number 7th with $6,716 GDP per capital; Namibia ranked 8th with $4,911 GDP per capital; Egypt followed with $4,295; and Algeria came 10th with $4,274 GDP per capital in 2022.
