Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was rebased yesterday from N80 trillion to N372 trillion; however, the country’s economy nonetheless ranks fourth in Africa. Nigeria’s nominal GDP is significantly higher than previously thought, according to the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) “Rebasing of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)” report, which was published on Monday, July 21, 2025.
Following the rebasing process, the NBS revealed that Nigeria’s nominal GDP as of 2024 is N372.82 trillion.
The process of changing the base year used to compute GDP to account for shifts in an economy’s composition and structure is known as GDP rebasing. In order to appropriately represent contemporary economic activity, consumption trends, and sectoral contributions, a more recent base year must be used.
“The rebased estimates using the new base year of 2019 show that Nigeria’s nominal GDP is significantly higher than previously thought, according to the report from NBS.
“In 2019, the rebased nominal GDP at market prices stood at N205.09 trillion, N213.64 trillion in 2020, N243.30 trillion in 2021, N274.23 trillion in 2022, N314.02 trillion in 2023, and N372.82 trillion in 2024.”
Nigeria’s GDP increased from N80 trillion to N372 trillion as a result of the rebasing, but it was still the fourth largest economy in Africa, behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.
With a GDP of $187.75 billion, Nigeria is the fourth largest economy in Africa in 2024, behind South Africa ($400.26 billion), Egypt ($389.05 billion), and Algeria ($263,61 billion), according to a World Bank report prior to the rebasing exercise. Morocco ($154.43 billion) rounds out the top five.
With Nigeria’s rebased GDP now standing at N372.82 trillion, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exchange rate of N1,536.50 per dollar as of December 31, 2024, translates to $242.64 billion in US dollars.
This demonstrates that although Nigeria’s economy is worth more than the World Bank’s April estimate, the nation still lags behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.
