The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to rebase the country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2025 to enhance policy accuracy and boost investor confidence.
This was announced in a statement on the Ministry of Finance’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, following a meeting between the Statistician General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, and his team. The Ministry also shared that Adeniran met with Minister Wale Edun to provide an update on the rebasing process for both the CPI and GDP.
A key focus of the rebasing is to better reflect Nigeria’s informal sector, which plays a significant role in the economy. According to estimates, the informal sector contributes around 60% of Nigeria’s economic activities, yet it is barely captured in the current GDP data.
Rebasing the GDP and inflation data will involve revising the methodology used to calculate these figures, with the aim of improving accuracy in policy-making decisions. Interestingly, under the current methodology, Nigeria’s GDP has declined in dollar value, causing the country to drop from 1st to 4th place in Africa’s GDP rankings.
In 2023, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also revised its unemployment data methodology to include casual and self-employed workers.
This adjustment led to a significant drop in the unemployment rate from 33.3% to about 5%. While the change has faced criticism for not fully reflecting the unemployment situation, the NBS has defended the new approach, stating that it aligns with global best practices.
