By GEORGINA ALEXANDER and JOHN ENDRES for AFRICA CHECK.
The Africa growth story is making headlines: Africa’s population is rising faster than that of any other region in the world. Its cities are growing. Its middle class is getting bigger. The youth bulge is expanding. China’s trade with the African continent is booming and Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country, by a factor of two – has overtaken South Africa as the continent’s biggest economy. But look a little closer and many things are not quite as they seem.
Can we really trust statistics on Africa? Often, the answer is “no”. The debate about the Africa rising story is unlikely to be settled anytime soon because the numbers do not provide an accurate picture.
Nigeria’s GDP in 2012 was given as $268.7 billion. In 2013 it almost doubled to $522.6 billion and Nigeria has displaced South Africa as the continent’s largest economy. Did Nigeria’s economy double overnight?
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