Nigeria Drops in Global GDP Ranking

30th Dec 2011

Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has dropped from 8. 9 per cent to 6.8 per cent growth rate, the latest World Economic League Table compiled by United Kingdom-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has shown.

CEBR, a global independent commercial economics consultancy, forecast in its report released on Wednesday that the country's economic growth rate would remain at 6.8 per cent in the four-year period of 2011 to 2015, compared with the 8.9 per cent recorded in the 10-year period of 2001 to 2010.

With the decline, CEBR estimated that the nation would remain at the bottom of the ranking of world's top 10 fastest-growing economies till 2015.

The country dropped from its fourth position last year to 10th position on the current rankings.

Aside Nigeria, there are other six African nations on the ranking led by China (9.5 per cent) and India (8.2 per cent) in first and second positions respectively.

Ethiopia (8.1), Mozambique (7.7) and Tanzania (7.2) moved up to occupy third, fourth and fifth positions respectively, with Vietnam (7.2) coming sixth.

Congo (7.0), Zambia (7.0) and Ghana (76.9) have become the seventh, eighth and ninth fastest-growing economies.

The forecast by the global rating body may have corresponded to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)'s report which stated that the nation's GDP fell to 7.40 in the third quarter of this year as against 7.80 in the same period in 2010.

However, South Africa is set to rise to the 28th largest economy in the world in 2020, from 29th currently, CEBR predicted.

South Africa remains the only African country in the top 30 countries ranked by GDP in dollars in 2010, 2011 and 2020.

CEBR further estimated that Brazil will overtake the UK this year as the world's sixth largest economy with a GDP of $2.518 trillion compared with the UK's $2.481 trillion and fifth-ranked France's $2.808 trillion.

The United States remains top of the ranking at $15.065 trillion, followed by China at $6.988 trillion, Japan at $5.855 trillion and Germany at $3.629 trillion.

South Africa's economy by contrast only had a size of $422 billion in 2011 rising to $648 billion in 2020.

The top three retain their rankings in 2020, but resource-rich Russia muscles into fourth place from only ninth place this year.

India claws its way into fifth place from tenth place currently.

Brazil retains its sixth place, which means that Germany at seven is the highest placed European economy in 2020 followed by the UK, France and Italy.

Brazil has overtaken the UK to become the world's sixth-largest economy, according to economists at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

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