FG to rebase GDP, inflation data in 2025

• Published On: 16 November 2024 at 13:31

The Nigerian government intends to rebase its Consumer Price Index and GDP by 2025 in order to increase economic policy precision and investor trust.

This update was released in a statement on the Ministry of Finance's official X (previously Twitter) account following a meeting between the Federation's Statistician General, Adeyemi Adeniran, and Minister Wale Edun on Thursday.

The ministry also announced that the rebased CPI and GDP will be validated and officially launched in early 2025.

"Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, the Statistician-General of the Federation, and his team met with the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, at Finance Headquarters earlier today to provide a comprehensive update on the ongoing rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"Set for validation and launch in early 2025, these updated frameworks are expected to strengthen Nigeria's economic management systems and solidify its position as a leading economic force in Africa," according to the ministry.

It emphasised that the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index and Gross Domestic Product will provide significant economic benefits to Nigeria.

It stated that the improved data will provide a more accurate and reliable picture of the economy, boosting investor confidence and encouraging more informed investment decisions.

Furthermore, the ministry stated that the rebasing process will increase worldwide comparability by aligning Nigeria's economic indicators with international standards, making the country's data more consistent and comparable on a global scale.

"The rebasing of the CPI and GDP promises substantial economic benefits, including enhanced policy accuracy through more precise fiscal and monetary data, increased investor confidence with a clearer and more reliable depiction of the economy, and improved global comparability by aligning Nigeria's economic indicators with international standards," according to the statement.

There has been continuous debate about rebasing Nigeria's GDP numbers to better reflect the informal sector, which is estimated to provide about 60% of the country's economic activity but is only weakly represented in current GDP figures.

Rebasing GDP and inflation data entails updating the methodology used to produce these indicators, which aims to improve the accuracy of economic measurements and policy decisions.

According to the current approach, Nigeria's GDP has drastically decreased in dollar value, causing the country to fall from first to fourth place in Africa's economic rankings.