…Lists 20 world’s fastest growing economies
By Saidu Abubakar
Nigeria is NOT among the 12 African counties listed by the IMF out of the 20 world’s fastest growing economies. This, is, according to IMF, April 2026 projections and AfDB 2026 outlook.
Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya — the continent’s supposed 3 biggest economies — are missing from the fastest-growth list.
12 of world’s 20 fastest-growing economies are in Africa, but they are smaller, high-growth economies:
- Ethiopia – 9.2%
- Guinea – 8.7-10.5%
- Uganda – 7.5%
- Rwanda – 7.2%
- Benin – 7.0%
- Niger – 6.7%
- Libya – 6.7%
- Côte d’Ivoire – 6.2%
- Djibouti – 6.0%
- Tanzania – 5.9%
- DR Congo – 5.9%
- Mali – 5.5% / Zambia / South Sudan (list varies slightly by vintage).
Nigeria’s growth is projected at around 3.2% – 3.8% in 2026, below the African average of 4.2-4.3%.
Reason is simple: it’s harder to grow 6%+ off a $360bn base than off a $15bn base, plus Nigeria is still in reform/adjustment phase after subsidy removal and naira float.
The giants grow slower in percentage terms, but add more absolute dollars, according to the projection released by the IMF.
Meanwhile, from 2023 to date, the official Debt Management Office figures have shown that:
Total public debt (Federal + States + FCT)
- June 30, 2023 — just after Tinubu took over: N87.38 trillion
- Dec 31, 2023: N97.34trn
- Dec 31, 2024: N144.67trn
- Dec 31, 2025: N159.28trn
- March 31, 2026: N159.35trn
- June 30, 2026 (latest): N166.79 trillion = $120.93bn
So increase from June 2023 to June 2026: +N79.41 trillion, about +91% l.
Why so high in naira?
- New borrowing: External debt rose from $42.49bn (Dec 2023) to $51.86bn (Dec 2025) — and $54.52bn by June 2026, Domestic from N59.1trn to N89.4trn 2. Naira devaluation: DMO converts dollar debt at N1,379/$ in June 2026, so same dollar debt looks almost double in naira vs 2023 when rate was N400-700.
Debt service is the bigger pain now:
Q1 2026 alone: N3.14trn just for domestic interest, 95% of it is interest not principal.
Total debt service: N7.79trn in 2023 – N16.26trn in 2025.
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