With massive oil reserves, extensive potential in the agriculture and service sectors, and a youthful, rapidly growing population, Nigeria is equipped to emerge as a global economic powerhouse. Yet corruption, infrastructure gaps, insecurity, and a failure to diversify the economy away from petroleum production have constrained economic growth and development.
The economy is poised to enter a deep recession in 2020 – its second contraction in five years – amid a global oil price collapse and disruptions linked to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
The International Monetary Fund projects Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) to decline by 5.4% in 2020, with severe implications for economic livelihoods and government finances.
Nigeria already ranks among the world’s least developed countries across a range of indicators: according to some estimates, Nigeria is home to the world’s largest population living in extreme poverty.