Nigeria's Journey So Far

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Nigerian’s Journey So Far November 26th, 2011 INTRODUCTION Nigeria is a West African economy with a long coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. The country shares international borders with Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Nigeria ranks 32 in the world in terms of total area. The terrain of the country consists of southern lowlands and plateaus in the central region. The south east region has a mountainous surface, while the north consists of plains. According to the 2009 estimates, the country has a total population in excess of 154 million, of which almost 70% live below the international poverty line. Nigeria’s economy is overly dependent on the petroleum sector. The Nigerian economy is one of the most developed economies in Africa.…show more content…
It is the 12th largest producer of petroleum products in the world. The industry accounts for almost 80% of the GDP share and above 90% of the total exports. Outside the petroleum sector, the Nigerian economy is highly amorphous and lacks basic infrastructure. Several failed efforts have been made after 1990 to develop other industrial sectors. Owing to the surge in international oil prices during 2007-08, Nigeria managed an annual GDP of US$352.3 billion. The nation ranks 33 in the world in terms of GDP. The GDP per capita is US $2,400. Widespread poverty and lack of industrial resources are the biggest challenges for Nigeria. The country ranks 151 out of 177 on the UN Development Index. During 2003-07, the government initiated strategic…show more content…
After completing financial audits of all 24 national banks, the Central Bank found 10 of the banks to be undercapitalized or suffering from illiquidity. The Central Bank replaced many of the failing banks' management teams and pumped nearly $6 billion into the sector. In addition, the Central Bank published the names of significant loan defaulters, which included many prominent political and business figures. These reforms came on top of a major banking overhaul in 2006 that reduced the number of banks from 89 to 24, increased a bank's minimal capital requirement to $190 million, and required banks to hold 40% of their deposits in liquid assets. Retail, corporate, and Internet banking are seen as intensively competitive, and the home loan market is considered moderately competitive. Less than 10% of lending is believed to be made to individuals. About 65% of the economically active population is serviced by the informal financial sector, e.g., microfinance institutions, moneylenders, friends, relatives, and credit unions. Since 1999, the Nigerian Stock Exchange has enjoyed strong performance, although equity as a means to foster corporate growth remains underutilized by Nigeria's private sector. Credit is largely inaccessible to rural communities, the real estate sector and small businesses receive a low level of lending, and the credit card market remains at an early stage of
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