13 Mar The biggest economy in Africa -Nigeria

Dear Travel Writer Followers,

In this week’s article, I would like to write about the Nigerian market, which is one of the largest markets in the world and the land of opportunities.

Nigeria has the biggest economy in Africa — and one of the lowest life expectancies on the planet. This report explores the country’s contradictions, and looks at the challenges and opportunities in sectors including energy, pensions, edtech and agriculture ..

The economy grew at a robust pace in the fourth quarter of last year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The print was buttressed by an easing downturn in the key oil sector offsetting cooling momentum in the non-oil sector. Household spending, meanwhile, should have benefitted from easing price pressures in the quarter. Turning to 2022, business conditions improved at a solid pace in January, despite easing from December. In the political arena, the government approved on 26 January a NGN 3 trillion (around USD 7.2 million) request from the national oil company to cover fuel subsidies throughout 2022. This follows the abolition of a plan to liberalize oil prices earlier in January; subsidies will continue for at least another 18 months. In other petrol news, OPEC+ raised Nigeria’s production quota, though the country is unlikely to meet this target.

Political System 

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is made up of 36 states and one territory. President Muhammadu Buhari acts as the head of state and head of government. In the last election of May 2015 Buhari, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defeated the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party by more than 2.5m votes with a margin of 53% to 46%. This was the first time an opposition candidate had won a presidential election in Nigeria.

The president appoints the cabinet, which is known as the Federal Executive Council. The president is elected for a four-year term by a majority of the popular vote and at least 25% of the vote in 24 of the 36 states of the federation.

The legislative branch is made up of the 109-seat Senate and the 360-seat House of Representatives. Elections to both houses are for 4 years and are achieved by a simple majority in single seat constituencies. In the March 2015 elections, the most recent to be held in the country, the All Progressive Congress (APC) – an alliance of Buhari’s party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, a faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, and the All Nigeria Peoples Party – won the majority in both houses. The APC holds 60 seats in the Senate and 225 seats in the House of Representatives.

Geography 

Nigeria is the third-biggest country in West Africa by area and 32nd-largest in the world. With 853 km of coastline adjoining the Gulf of Guinea, it is well connected to international trade routes and acts as an important conduit of goods for the landlocked countries to the north. It has borders with Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

It is also a diverse land. There are mountains in the south-east, central plateaus and hills, and plains to the north. The 4180 km long Niger River bisects the country and rises to the Guinea Highlands. Entering Nigeria in the north-west, it meanders towards the coast, forming a delta before emptying into the Gulf of Guinea to the west of Port Harcourt. The country lacks any significant mountain ranges. The most prominent is the Bamenda Adamawa Mandara chain, which is shared with Cameroon and is home to Chappal Waddi, the highest point in Nigeria and the whole of West Africa, standing at 2419 metres. The 10th parallel north, a circle of latitude, is an important boundary, marking the dramatic difference in geographic and climatic conditions between the south and the north. The south is defined by thick vegetation, savannah and tropical conditions, while the north merges into the Sahel, a semi-arid transitional zone that reaches to the Sahara desert further north.

Climate 

Given the contrasts between the north and south of the country, it is hardly surprising that temperature and weather conditions vary substantially. The far north is arid, the centre of the country is tropical and the south is equatorial. Along the coast, humidity reigns, but temperatures rarely climb above 32°C. Further north, there is a dry season, running from November to March, and a wet season, lasting from April to October. During the dry period, temperatures can reach 38°C during the day. However, they drop as low as 12°C at night. Average annual rainfall can vary from roughly 430 cm in the south-east of the country to just 50 cm in the far north. The latter region is influenced by the Harmattan, a hot and dry northerly wind, which blows in dust from the Sahel and Sahara.

Natural Resources 

Nigeria is also blessed with an abundance of resources. The country is most widely known for its vast hydrocarbons wealth. It was home to 37.1bn barrels of proven oil reserves (see Energy chapter) in 2015. At current production rates, this will give the country another 43 years worth of oil revenues. The country also contained 5.1trn cu metres of natural gas in 2015, accounting for 2.7% of total global reserves.

However, Nigeria possesses much more than simply oil and gas. It is home to significant deposits of coal, iron ore, lead, limestone, tin and zinc. Just as importantly, it has rich land and water resources that are ripe for further agricultural exploitation. Indeed, the agricultural industry remains a mainstay of the economy, accounting for 23.9% of GDP and upwards of 70% of the country’s workforce (see Agriculture chapter). Approximately 83.7% of Nigeria’s land area is agricultural, although only 40% is arable. Substantial water resources also assist the agricultural sector. The country has 230bn cu metres of total renewable water resources. This should help expand productivity through irrigation. As of 2012, only 0.3% (or 2930 sq km) of Nigeria’s total land area was irrigated.

Population 

The country’s other major resource is its people. With an estimated 184m people in 2015, according to the IMF, Nigeria ranks as the seventh-most-populous country in the world. Furthermore, it is predicted to rapidly climb through these rankings in the coming decades. With a current population growth rate of 2.7%, Nigeria is forecast to reach 440m people by 2050, ranking it as the third-largest country globally by demographic size (see Economy chapter). Given these trends, it is unsurprising that Nigeria is also a young country, with a median age of just 19. It is also increasingly urban. With the urban population growing at 3.75% a year, the share of Nigerians living in towns and cities will soon surpass 50% of the total population (see Construction & Real Estate chapter).

The country has more than 250 different ethnic groups. Half of the population is Muslim, while a further 40% are Christian. English is the official language of the country, while Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo are commonly spoken in specific regions. In total, there are more than 500 indigenous languages currently spoken throughout the country.

Nigeria is one of youngest country in the world

Turkey – Nigeria Business Potential

TURKEY-NIGERIA
In 2021, Turkey exported $681M to Nigeria. The main products that Turkey exported to Nigeria are Refined Petroleum ($165M), Iron Structures ($30M), and Gypsum ($24.1M). During the last 24 years the exports of Turkey to Nigeria have increased at an annualized rate of 17.9%, from $13.1M in 1995 to $681M in 2021.

In 2011, Turkey exported services to Nigeria worth $0, with being the largest in terms of value.

NIGERIA-TURKEY
In 2021, Nigeria exported $1.45B to Turkey . The main products that Nigeria exported to Turkey were Crude Petroleum ($779M), Petroleum Gas ($520M), and Other Oily Seeds ($130M). During the last 24 years the exports of Nigeria to Turkey have increased at an annualized rate of 24.6%, from $7.41M in 1995 to $1.45B in 2021.

In 2019, Nigeria did not export any services to Turkey.

COMPARISON
In 2021, Turkey ranked 40 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 0.65), and 29 in total exports ($187B). That same year, Nigeria ranked 140 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI -1.6), and 47 in total exports ($63.8B).

Thanks for your interest to my article,

Mahmut Sami SAKA

13.03.2022