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World Bank projects Nigeria’s Par Capita income to fall to 40-year low

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By GFDNews Correspondent

The World Bank has projected that Nigeria’s per capita income could decline to its lowest level in 40 years as the country battles economic recession amidst declining oil revenue.

World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri said in a remark at the ongoing Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja that with the contraction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in two consecutive quarters, Nigeria’s per capita income could be back at the level last seen in 1980.

Per capita income or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given country or area in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the national income by population size.

According to World Bank statistics, Nigeria’s per capita income hit a record high of $3,222.69 in 2014 but fell to $1,968.56 in 2017. As of 2019, it stood at $2,229.9.

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He observed that the country was still grappling with the last oil price shock of 2014-2016 before the COVID-19 crisis hit the economy.

“And for Nigeria, this is a critical juncture. With the contraction in GDP that could happen this year, Nigeria’s per capita income could be around what it was in 1980— four decades ago,” Chaudhuri said.

Nigeria par capita income stood at $874.40 in 1980 and rose to a peak of $3,222.69 in 2014, according to available data.

“The fact of the matter is that recovery was there but it was slow; it was only gathering pace,” adding that between 2015 and 2019, 15 million young Nigerians came of working age but only about four million really found the kinds of jobs and opportunities they aspired for.

“Crisis like this is often what it takes to bring a nation together to have that consensus within the political, business, government, military, civil society to say, ‘We have to do something that departs from business as usual’.

“This is absolutely a critical juncture and I am very hopeful that given what the government has done, that this crisis will also provide an opportunity for that national consensus.”

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