SAN FRANCISCO, October 20, (THEWILL) – Although Nigeria is facing its worst economic recession in 29 years, the International Monetary Fund, IMF, has affirmed the nation’s economy as the biggest in Africa, ahead of South Africa and Egypt.
Nigeria had lost its spot as Africa’s biggest economy to South Africa in August 2016, following the recalculation of the country’s GDP. But the IMF’s World Economic Outlook for October 2016 puts South Africa’s GDP at $280.36 billion, from $314.73 billion in 2015, while that of Nigeria stood at $415.080 billion for 2016, from $493.831 billion at the end of 2015.
But while the 2015 figure is actual; the one for 2016 is a projection.
Although Egypt’s 2016 data was reported as unavailable, its 2015 size remained at $330.15 billion, while that of Algeria, one of the largest economies on the continent, was put at $168.31 billion.
The United States, China and Japan maintained their spots as the largest economies in the world, with projected GDPs of $18.561 trillion, $11.391 trillion and $4.73 trillion respectively for 2016.
These countries are being trailed by Germany, United Kingdom and France in that order.
The Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, disclosed at the just-concluded World Bank/IMF meetings that global growth had been too slow for too long.
“We continue to face the problem of global growth being too low for too long, benefiting too few,” she said after the world economic outlook was published.
The world expects an economic growth of 3.1 percent in 2016, reviewed from 3.4 percent.
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