According to the recently published April 2023 Africa’s Pulse report by the World Bank, Nigeria’s non-oil sector is projected to drive the country’s economy.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that this is due to a number of factors that are expected to cause oil production to remain low in 2023.
The report, which analyzes the factors influencing Africa’s economic future, predicts that Nigeria’s economy will grow at a 2.8% annual rate in 2023, down from a 3.3% annual rate in 2022.
According to the report, the country’s oil production will remain low in 2023.
A snippet of the report read:
“The Nigerian economy is set to grow by 2.8% in 2023, down from 3.3% in 2022. It is expected to accelerate slightly to an average annual rate of 3% in 2024–25. This translates into growth per capita of 0.2% in 2023 and 0.4% in 2024–25, which is insufficient to reduce extreme poverty in the country.
“Growth will continue to be driven by services, trade, construction, manufacturing, and agriculture. Oil production is projected to remain subdued in 2023, because of inefficiencies and insecurity, and recover slightly in 2024– 25. On the production side, growth in 2023 will be supported by industry (with a growth of 5.6%) with the mega-refinery project.
“Country projections show a mixed picture of the evolution of the current account deficit across oil-exporting countries. For example, Angola, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo are expected to post current account surpluses in 2022 and maintain a surplus in the coming three years, albeit at declining levels.
“Nigeria, the largest African oil producer, is not expected to reach a current account surplus in 2022. The country’s higher crude oil export revenues are more than offset by higher imports of refined petroleum products, lower remittances, and lower capital inflows. Nigeria’s projected current account deficit will remain at an average of 0.3% of GDP in 2023–25 because of declining prices and stagnant oil production.”
