World Bank Forecasts 2.5% Growth for Nigeria in 2018

By Dipo Olowookere

Nigeria’s economy will grow in the year 2018 by 2.5 percent, the World Bank Group has disclosed in its latest report.

The global lender noted in its World Bank’s January 2018 Global Economic Prospect report on Tuesday that this growth may be upwardly reviewed if the government’s reforms lift non-oil sector growth in the country.

“Nigeria is anticipated to accelerate to a 2.5 percent rate this year from one percent growth in the year just ended.

“An upward revision to Nigeria’s forecast is based on expectation that oil production will continue to recover and that reforms will lift non-oil sector growth,” the report stated.

The World Bank added that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may increase by 2.8 percent in 2019 and 2020.

For the Sub-Saharan African region, the World Bank noted that growth is expected to grow to 3.2 percent in 2018 and 3.5 percent in 2019, on the back of firming commodity prices and gradually strengthening domestic demand.

It said, “South Africa is forecast to tick up to 1.1 per cent growth in 2018 from 0.8 per cent in 2017. The recovery is expected to solidify, as improving business sentiment supports a modest rise in investment.

“However, policy uncertainty was likely to remain and could slow needed structural reforms.”

For Angola, the global financial firm said the country is expected to witness 1.6 percent growth in 2018, as a successful political transition improves the possibility of reforms that ameliorate the business environment.

Furthermore, Cote d’Ivoire is forecast to expand by 7.2 percent in 2018, Senegal by 6.9 percent; Ethiopia by 8.2 percent, Tanzania by 6.8 percent, and Kenya by 5.5 percent as inflation eases.

On the world scene, the report disclosed that global economic growth will jump to 3.1 percent in the year under review.

However, the report showed that growth would remain below pre-crisis averages, partly reflecting a struggle in larger economies to boost private investment.

Also, an abrupt slowdown in China could generate adverse spillovers to the region through lower-than-expected commodity prices.