Nigeria Becomes Africa's Largest Economy and Most Populous Democracy
More than 200 million people and Africa's biggest GDP still ride mostly on the price of oil
Quick facts
- GDP rebasing year
- 2014
- 2014 GDP figure
- c. $509.9 billion
- Population
- c. 200+ million, most populous in Africa
- Democratic era
- Continuous civilian rule since May 1999
What happened
In 2014, a rebasing of Nigeria's GDP calculation nearly doubled its official figure to about 509.9 billion dollars, well above South Africa's roughly 370.3 billion dollars that year, formally making Nigeria the largest economy in Africa. Nigeria has held that position since, even though South Africa's economy remains about three times larger on a per-person basis, and despite persistent estimates that a large share of Nigerians live in extreme poverty. Nigeria's population has also kept growing rapidly: contemporary population figures put the country in the range of roughly 200 million people, by far the most populous in Africa, with demographic projections suggesting Nigeria could become the world's third most populous country within the coming decades. Since 1999, Nigeria has sustained its longest run of continuous civilian, elected government, a democracy that outsiders and Nigerians alike now describe as the largest, by population, on the African continent.
Why it matters
Nigeria's combination of continental economic weight, the largest population on the continent, and a quarter-century run of civilian government makes it the country most other African states and international partners watch as a bellwether for the region, even as heavy oil dependence, deep poverty, and periodic political and security crises show how incomplete that success still is. The country's history, from Nok ironworkers through Ife's sculptors, Benin's court casters, the Sokoto jihad, colonial amalgamation, and Biafra's famine, is the foundation an outsider needs to understand why modern Nigeria looks the way it does today.
How we know
Nigeria's GDP rebasing and its comparative economic standing are documented and analyzed by the Council on Foreign Relations using Nigerian national accounts data, and population figures are corroborated by international demographic estimates cited in the same body of reporting.
Sources
- Council on Foreign Relations. Nigeria is Officially "Africa's Largest Economy" · General sourcecfr.org · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match).
- Council on Foreign Relations. Nigeria Faces a Crippling Population Boom · General sourcecfr.org · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match).
See something wrong? . Corrections with a source get fixed fastest.
Part of a timelineHistory of Nigeria26 events · Iron Age sculptors, bronze-casting kingdoms, an amalgamation drawn up by a British governor, and Africa's most populous nationView all →