Why World Bank Cuts Nigeria’s 2023 Economic Growth Projection to 2.9% 

Citing currency pressure, insecurity, and other challenges, the World Bank Group yesterday, revised its economic growth outlook for Nigeria in 2023, to 2.9 per cent, lower than its earlier projection of 3.3 per cent for the West African country.

This was revealed in the multilateral institution’s latest ‘Africa Pulse,’ a regional macroeconomic outlook released yesterday, where it noted that Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic outlook remained bleak amid an elusive growth recovery.

Nigeria and Angola are leading oil producers in Africa. It noted that rising instability, weak growth in the region’s largest economies, and lingering uncertainty in the global economy were dragging down growth prospects in the region.

The report forecasted a deceleration of economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa to 2.5 per cent in 2023, from 3.6 per cent in 2022.

The Washington-based institution stated: “South Africa’s GDP is expected to only grow by 0.5 per cent in 2023 as energy and transportation bottlenecks continue to bite. Nigeria and Angola are projected to grow at 2.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively, due to lower international prices and currency pressures affecting oil and non-oil activity. “Increased conflict and violence in the region weigh on economic activity, and this rising fragility may be exacerbated by climatic shocks.”