Nigeria Will Be 15th Largest Economy in the World by 2050 – Jim O’Neill

Nigeria is on track to becoming the 15th largest economy in the world by 2050, said Mr Jim O’Neill, a former Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. O’Neill said Nigeria could achieve this feat if its large population actively participates in economic development. O’Neill made the prediction at the ongoing 20th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Thursday. O’Neill, who is reputed with coining the term ‘BRICS’ – an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – for the fastest growing economies, said that events in Brazil, India, Russia and China known as “Brics Nations” had shown that with their large populations, they could engage the world. He believes the same principle, with regard to population, applies to Nigeria. O’Neill said that with all available indices, Nigeria had already been listed among the expected 15 largest economies by 2050. “What you are seeing today is the list of the 15 largest economies by 2050 and Nigeria is there. This means that Nigeria can be the 15th largest economy by 2050. “You have one ingredient in a very substantial way; you have a large and young population that is outstanding significantly,” he said.