Earlyface

NIGERIA may have to wait till 2035 to become a member of the league of the 20 most developed economies in the world if the current economic indices continue, the Nigeria Economic summit Group (NESG) has said.  Director General of the group, Frank Nweke, said this yesterday at its 18th summit holding in Abuja while presenting the 2012 score card of the Nigeria’s economy.

He said Saudi Arabia would be the 20th largest economy in the world by 2020 with a GDP of $1.2 trillion in purchasing power parity (PPP).

On the other hand, Nigeria would be the 27th largest economy in the world by 2020 with a GDP of $864 billion in PPP, falling short of being the 20th largest economy by GDP of $316 billion.

Nweke said the projections were made using the IMF Economic Outlook database.

“To become the 20th largest economy therefore, Nigeria needs to close a $730 billion gap starting now,” Nweke said. Otherwise, Nigeria could become the 20th largest economy by 2035,” he said.

Speaking, Finance Minister Ngozi Oknojo-Iweala said appreciable progress has been made in the last few months, including the setting up of the sovereign wealth fund, growing of external reserves, among other micro economic policies.