Nigeria’s economy revolves almost entirely around oil. In 2007 Nigeria exported well over 2 million barrels of oil per day making it the 7th biggest exporter of oil in the world. Over the past decades Nigeria’s economy has been plagued by political instability, corruption, poor management, and an inadequate infrastructure. Nigerian oil exports account for 95% of foreign exchange earnings and nearly 80% of budgetary revenues. Faced with massive debt at the turn of the century, the International Monetary Fund gave Nigeria a debt restructuring deal and a 1 billion dollar credit, both of which were contingent on economic reform. In 2002, after failing to meet the agreed requirements Nigeria scraped its restructuring deal and in doing so made itself ineligible for future debt forgiveness. Under the Jonathan Administration, Nigeria has made steps to meet the guidelines of the IMF. Since 2008, Nigeria has modernized the banking system, resolved regional disputes over oil revenues and curbed inflation. The government has also taken steps to deregulate oil prices, privatize its oil refineries and implement the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy which has made Nigeria eligible once again for help from the IMF. In 2005, Nigeria made a deal with the IMF which eliminated $30 billion of its debt. In 2009, Nigeria had a GDP of $ 339 billion. Although this ranked 33rd in the world, Nigeria has one of the world’s highest GDP growth rates at 6.1%. The United States, India , France, Brazil, and Spain rank as some of Nigeria’s most common trade partners, with the USA, India, and Brazil ranking in the top three, respectively. One thing that Nigeria does lack is infrastructure. Until Nigeria creates more infrastructure its economy will not be able to grow much larger than it already is.
