A separate long-range projection puts Nigeria’s economy at $13.1 trillion by 2075, trailing only China, India, the United States and Indonesia. In May 2026, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Dr.
Kalilou Sylla, went further, telling the bloc’s parliamentary session in Abuja that Nigeria could become the world’s fifth-richest nation within fifty years if regional trade and reforms hold their course.
These projections come from serious institutions engaged in long-horizon economic analysis. PwC’s own authors make it clear that achieving the projection depends on Nigeria building its institutions to global standards, diversifying its economy and sustaining growth-friendly policies.
Reaching that scale will require sustained improvements in institutions, human capital and productive capacity. One growth engine is already in motion: population.
Nigeria’s population, currently around 242 million, is growing at roughly 2.1 percent a year, with a fertility rate of 4.8 children per woman. The United Nations projects that the population will approach 400 million by 2050, making Nigeria the world’s third most populous country and overtaking the United States sometime between 2045 and 2050.