[Mhiz Rebecca]

The World Bank on Wednesday forecasted that Nigeria
will get out of recession in 2017.
It also said the country will grow its Gross Domestic
Product by one per cent within 12 months.
A
statement on World Bank’s January 2017 Global
Economic Prospect
noted that “Sub-Saharan African growth is expected to
pick up modestly to 2.9 per cent in 2017 as the region
continues to adjust to lower commodity prices.
“Growth in South Africa and oil exporters is expected to
be weaker, while growth in economies that are not
natural-resource intensive should remain robust.
“Growth in South Africa is expected to edge up to a 1.1
per cent pace this year. Nigeria is forecast to rebound
from recession and grow at a 1 per cent pace. Angola is
projected to expand at a 1.2 per cent pace.”
The report projected that growth in the advanced
economies would edge up to 1.8 per cent in the current
year.
World
Bank
said
growth in emerging market and developing economies
as a whole should pick up to 4.2 per cent this year from
3.4 per cent in the year just ended amid modestly rising
commodity prices.
It, however, stressed that the outlook was clouded by
uncertainty about policy direction in major economies.
Commenting on the report, President, World Bank
Group, Jim Yong Kim, stated, “After years of
disappointing global growth, we are encouraged to see
stronger economic prospects on the horizon.
“Now is the time to take advantage of this momentum
and increase investments in infrastructure and people.
This is vital to accelerating the sustainable and inclusive
economic growth required to end extreme poverty.”
He lamented recent weakening of investment growth in
the emerging markets and developing economies, which
accounted for one-third of the global GDP and about
three quarter of the world’s population and the poor.