Nigeria on the Move : A Journey to Inclusive Growth
Frequently referred to as the Giant of Africa, Nigeria is growing slower than its population and large numbers of people are poor. With gross national income per capita of US$2,100 (in 2017; Atlas method, WDI), Nigeria is classified as a lower-midd...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/891271581349536392/Nigeria-on-the-Move-A-Journey-to-Inclusive-Growth-Moving-Toward-a-Middle-Class-Society http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33347 |
| Summary: | Frequently referred to as the Giant of
Africa, Nigeria is growing slower than its population and
large numbers of people are poor. With gross national income
per capita of US$2,100 (in 2017; Atlas method, WDI), Nigeria
is classified as a lower-middle-income country. It is richly
endowed, has a relatively young, rural, and multiethnic
population, and accounts for the largest economy and
population in Africa. It has the potential to become an
economic powerhouse through the effective management of its
abundant resources, including plentiful agricultural land,
marine fisheries, hydropower, oil and gas, unexploited
deposits of minerals and metals, a young labor force, and a
strong entrepreneurship culture. One-fifth of the population
is in the middle class. However, significant poverty
persists despite the government’s effort to reduce the high
poverty rate. Measured according to the US$1.90-a-day per
capita purchasing power parity poverty line, it is estimated
that 42.8 percent of Nigeria’s population was living in
extreme poverty in 2016. Poverty has been rising in rural
areas and in the northern zones, while the situation in the
southern zones has generally been improving. Nigeria needs
more inclusive economic growth, so more people can exit from
poverty, and the country can evolve into a society with a
sizable middle class, a viable social contract between the
government and the people, and peace and prosperity across
the nation. A key development challenge in Nigeria revolves
around economic growth, which has had a limited impact on
reducing poverty and building shared prosperity. This
Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) examines the challenges
the government and people of Nigeria face in achieving the
twin goals of poverty reduction and shared prosperity. |
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