Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which stood at $187.64 billion, has now slipped to the fourth position among the top 10 African economies, according to recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts.
Nigeria, once hailed as the “African Giant” for its economic dominance, is behind South Africa ($400.2 billion), Egypt ($383.1 billion), and Algeria ($264.9 billion) on the Top 10 African Countries GDP 2024 list.
According to the IMF, Nigeria’s GDP in 2024, which stood at $187.64 billion, is a sharp drop from $477 billion in 2022 and $375 billion in 2023.
Afreximbank Research, the research and data unit of Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank, also highlighted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s ranking of Africa’s top countries by GDP for 2024.
According to Afreximbank Research, Nigeria’s GDP fall is primarily attributed to the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, which has plummeted by over 55% since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in 2023.
Nigeria’s slide to the fourth position “underscores the deep macroeconomic imbalances and FX challenges Nigeria faces despite its vast population and resource base,” Afreximbank Research said.
Also, some economic analysts have opined that the oil sector, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s economy, is part of the reason for Nigeria’s GDP fall.
Although oil contributes over 5% to Nigeria’s GDP, the sector contracted by 3.83% in Q2 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Meanwhile, Morocco took the fifth place. East Africa powerhouses Ethiopia and Kenya occupied the sixth and seventh positions.
Oil-rich Angola took the eighth spot, while big cocoa producers Cote Divoire and Ghana completed the top ten.
On the other hand, the IMF has projected Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP to expand by 3.8 per cent in nominal terms in 2025.
The Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook for 2025 set the projected economic growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa this year lower than for 2024 when the forecast was 4 per cent.
According to IMF’s report Nigeria and South Africa, two of Africa’s most prominent economies, have been projected to see weaker GDP growth rates in 2025 on account of various economic headwinds they are likely to face.
The IMF projected: “The growth forecast in Nigeria is revised downward by 0.2 percentage points for 2025 and 0.3 percentage points for 2026, owing to lower oil prices.
“That in South Africa is revised downward by 0.5 percentage point for 2025 and 0.3 percentage point for 2026, reflecting slowing momentum from a weaker-than-expected 2024 outturn, deteriorating sentiment due to heightened uncertainty, the intensification of protectionist policies, and a deeper slowdown in major economies.”
