Nigeria's GDP projected to rise by 2% in 2018 - World Bank

The World Bank has projected that Nigerias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow slightly below 2% in 2018.

According to a report on Nigeria's bi-annual Economic update, the bank said the growth will be largely driven by non-oil industry and services.

In the report, titled "Investing in Human Capital for Nigeria’s Future", it was stated that Nigeria's investment in human capital compared to other nations remained very low.

"In the second quarter of 2018, the oil sector contracted by 4.0 percent. The usually resilient agricultural growth slowed significantly to 1.2 percent, impacted by the security challenges in the northeast and Middle Belt regions.

"The non-oil industry and services, which constitute over half of Nigeria's economy, picked up to 3.1 percent and 2.1 percent, driven by growth in construction, transport, and ICT.

"Although oil revenues are increasing with recovering oil prices in 2018, distributions to the three tiers of government are constrained by the petrol subsidy and other prior deductions. In the first half of 2018, the current account surplus surpassed 4 percent of GDP, driven largely by higher oil exports, while non-oil revenue collections have come in lower than envisaged," the report said.

The report also noted that the fiscal deficit will likely widen in 2018 due to increased spending and sustained revenue shortfalls.