Nigeria Rising (Paraphrasing: China Rising)

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Ian Birrell, Africa Is Refuting the Usual Economic Pessimism; Even as Nigeria battles Islamist terrorism, this remarkably entrepreneurial nation is racing ahead. Wall Street Journal, Apr 17, 2014 op-ed).
online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303603904579492100427297122

Quote:

Nigeria on April 6 “discovered that its economy had almost doubled in size [89%, to be precise], with a gross domestic product of $510 billion in 2013. Africa's most populous country suddenly also has by far the continent's biggest economy (South Africa's GDP trails at $384 billion)

“While most developed countries reset calculations of GDP about every five years to reflect changes in consumption [such as emergence of smartphones and tablets], Nigeria had failed to do so since 1990. So previous figures excluded the explosion in mobile telecoms in Nigeria, despite 128 million subscribers, and a fast-expanding entertainment sector that is its second-biggest employer.

Nigeria now ”accounts for one-quarter of Africa's economy * * * The huge increase in GDP was largely driven by a thriving service sector and, increasingly, by manufacturing. Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, is a Nigerian cement and food supplier. The oil and gas industries that traditionally propped up the economy contribute only 14% of GDP.

“its [Nigeria’s] estimated 170 million people remain outside the top 100 in GDP per capita, and the rebased GDP figures reveal worryingly low tax revenues. But the superrich have made it Africa's biggest market for private jets, and an emerging middle class fuels one of the world's fastest-growing markets for champagne and cognac. Meanwhile, its dynamic movie industry, known as ‘Nollywood,’ turns out 1,000 films a year and has the world's third-highest revenues behind the US and India.

“The same rapid evolution is visible in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique or Tanzania. Already Africa [population 1.1b in 2013] has a bigger middle class than India [population 1.2b], driving the consumer spending that powers this economic swelling. Contrary to popular conception, the majority of Africa's most rapidly expanding nations do not rely on natural resources.

Note: South Africa: population 48.4m (July 2014 est[timate]); GDP (PPP) $595.7b; GDP (official exchange rate) $353.9b; GDP per capita (PPP) $11,500 (all three figures 2013 est)   CIA World Factbook