Economy - overview The oil-rich Nigerian economy continues to be hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management. Nigeria's unpopular military rulers have failed to make significant progress in diversifying the economy away from overdependence on the capital intensive oil sector which provides 30% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 80% of budgetary revenues. The government's resistance to initiating greater transparency and accountability in managing the country's multibillion dollar oil earnings continues to limit economic growth and prevent an agreement with the IMF and bilateral creditors on debt relief. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Agricultural production in 1996 suffered from severe shortages of fertilizer, and production of fertilizer fell even further in 1997.

GDP purchasing power parity - $132.7 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 3.3% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,300 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 39%
industry: 31%
services: 30% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 12% (1997 est.)

Labor force
total: 42.844 million
by occupation: agriculture 54%, industry, commerce, and services 19%, government 15%

Unemployment rate 28% (1992 est.)

Budget
revenues: $13.9 billion (1998 est.)
expenditures: $13.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (1998 est.)

Industries crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel

Industrial production growth rate 4.1% (1996)

Electricity - capacity 5.881 million kW (1995)

Electricity - production 16.21 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity - consumption per capita 152 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; fishing and forest resources extensively exploited

Exports
total value: $15 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber
partners: US 40%, EU 21% (1995)

Imports
total value: $8 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities: machinery, chemicals, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food and animals
partners: EU 50%, US 12%, Japan 7%

Debt - external $34 billion (1997 est.)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency 1 naira (N) = 100 kobo

Exchange rates naira (N) per US$1 - 21.886 (December 1997), 21.886 (1997), 21.895 (1995), 21.996 (1994), 22.065 (1993)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Nigeria on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nigeria Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nigeria Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.