World bank projects Nigerian economy to grow at 3.3 per cent in 2024, up from 2.9%

The World Bank has projected Nigeria’s economy to grow by 3.3 per cent this year up from the earlier projected 2.9 percent growth.

The leading development bank made this known in its recent Global Economic Prospect (GEP) titled “Global Economy Set for Weakest Half-Decade Performance in 30 Years” released on January 9, 2024.

The latest growth projection for Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, is about 0.4 percentage points higher than the 2.9 per cent it is expected to have closed last year.

Meanwhile, the projection is slightly behind that of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which is to expand by 3.8 per cent, but far modestly above the estimated global average of 2.3 per cent.

The latest projections for 2024 and 2025 are way above June forecasts, which were three and 3.1 per cent, respectively, re-validating the global bank’s rising confidence in the prospect of the economy since downstream oil and foreign exchange reforms that started the mid-last year.

READ ALSO: World Bank projects Nigeria’s subsidy savings to hit N11tr by 2025

According to the report, Nigeria’s inflation will “gradually ease as the effects of last year’s exchange rate reforms and removal of fuel subsidies fade”, with the structural reforms expected to boost fiscal revenue.

“Growth in SSA is expected to accelerate to 3.8 per cent in 2024 and further to 4.1 per cent in 2025 as inflationary pressures fade and financial conditions ease.

“The projections for regional growth in 2024 and 2025 have changed little from June forecasts, but these aggregates mask a mix of upgrades and downgrades at the country level.

“While growth in the largest economies in SSA is expected to lag the rest of the region, non-resource-rich economies are forecasted to maintain a growth rate above the regional average.

“Excluding the three largest SSA economies, growth in the region is expected to accelerate from 3.9 per cent in 2023 to 5 per cent in 2024 and a further 5.3 per cent in 2025,” the report said about Africa.

By Babajide Okeowo

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now