Within the next three year, many are thinking Nigeria could lead Africa with the largest economy due to their growth potential. Some are even saying that by 2013, Nigeria could even overtake South Africa in becoming the continent's largest economy. According to the Regional Head of Research in Africa for Standard Chartered Bank, Razia Khan, many signs are pointing to Nigeria having no problem doing this. For example, the population of Nigeria is nearly three times as large as South Africa's population, and nearly 42 percent of the population of Nigeria is under the age of 14 versus the 31 percent in South America. This means they are a young population and not only have many people working now, but also, many young people who will be ready or are working now and can work for a while. According to Khan, "the capacity of the Nigerian economy to absorb a rapidly growing working-age population will be key to achieving the 2013 growth projection." Nigeria's GDP is projected to grow about 7 per cent this year. Also, the large amount of natural resources has attracted many private investors. Although, there are many natural resources, many non-oil sectors of the economy are expected to remain the major drivers of growth, especially agriculture, wholesale and retail trade. The only thing which cold keep Nigeria of achieving this goal, is if they are not careful with how they handle their economic growth.
This shows that even with all the violence and crime, Nigeria as a country is growing more economically. It also shows that even though Nigeria is blessed with such a wanted commodity, they have not been plagued with "dutch disease" and are still focused on many other sectors of the economy instead of oil and natural gas.
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