UN forecasts 3% growth for Nigeria’s economy

The United Nations projects that the Nigerian economy will grow by 3% in 2023, despite the challenges of high inflation and poor power supply in the country, according to the report “2023 World Economic Situation and Prospects.”

The report, produced by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and five United Nations regional commissions, states that Nigeria’s economy will benefit from robust commodities trade and dynamic consumer goods and services markets.

The United Nations also noted that African countries with favorable export prices, including Nigeria, will benefit from commodity exports. However, a slowdown in global demand could pose challenges.

In addition, the report highlights the potential risks of rapidly rising borrowing costs and debt-servicing burdens, along with electoral instability and food insecurity. The United Nations also anticipates inflation pressures to ease in 2023, as monetary policy tightens across Africa.

The UN further reported that 17 African countries will hold presidential and parliamentary elections in 2023, and 13 others will prepare for national elections in 2024. The rising popular dissatisfaction driven by worsening socioeconomic conditions could prove challenging for incumbent or new administrations.

Finally, the report mentions that if political and military tensions persist or rise, the economic outlook for affected and surrounding countries could worsen. The World Bank previously downgraded Nigeria’s 2023 economic growth projection to 2.9%.