Africa > Nigeria > Economy

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Agriculture > products cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava, yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish
Aid as % of GDP	0.4%		[109th of 129]
Debt > External	$8,007,000,000.00		[82nd of 136]
Distribution of family income > Gini index	43.7		[13th of 43]
Economic freedom	1.15		[141st of 156]
Economy > Overview Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, is undertaking some reforms under a new reform-minded administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 80% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth - Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - and the country, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion credit from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. Nigeria pulled out of its IMF program in April 2002, after failing to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it ineligible for additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club. In the last year the government has begun showing the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as to modernize the banking system, to curb inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry. In 2003, the government began deregulating fuel prices, announced the privatization of the country's four oil refineries, and instituted the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, a domestically designed and run program modeled on the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management. In November 2005, Abuja won Paris Club approval for a debt-relief deal that eliminated $18 billion of debt in exchange for $12 billion in payments - a total package worth $30 billion of Nigeria's total $37 billion external debt. The deal requires Nigeria to be subject to stringent IMF reviews. GDP rose strongly in 2007, based largely on increased oil exports and high global crude prices. Newly-elected President YAR'ADUA has pledged to continue the economic reforms of his predecessor and the proposed budget for 2008 reflects the administrations emphasis on infrastructure improvements. Infrastructure is the main impediment to growth. The government is working toward developing stronger public-private partnerships for electricity and roads.
Exports	$61,790,000,000.00		[42nd of 189]
GDP	$114,686,300,000.00		[45th of 203]
GDP > PPP	$155,571,000,000.00		[50th of 163]
GDP > Real growth rate	6.4%		[61st of 198]
GDP per capita in 1950	$547.00		[51st of 52]
GDP per capita in 1973	$1,120.00		[46th of 52]
GINI index	43.7		[14th of 40]
Gross National Income	$37,132,000,000.00		[50th of 172]
Human Development Index	0.453		[159th of 178]
Income category	Low income
Income distribution > Richest 10%	40.8%		[17th of 114]
Population below poverty line	70%		[2nd of 46]
Poverty > Share of all poor people	8.03 % of world's poor		[3rd of 80]
Public debt	14.4 % of GDP		[103rd of 121]

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