BRICS: GDP size may be why Nigeria was not invited — Report

The size of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the invited countries to join BRICS may have outweighed that of Nigeria, new facts from the World of Statistics point to it as a possible reason why Africa’s most populous country may have been overlooked.

The organisation, which is committed to increasing public awareness of the power and impact of statistics on all aspects of society, published a statistical report that showed the economic size of the BRICS nations, made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and the invited nations.

Apparently, the objective of BRICS nations is to challenge the dominance of the G7 (Great 7 countries) made up of the USA, UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, France, and Italy in global trade and perhaps international geopolitics.

Read also: BRICS nations to account for 32.1% of global GDP in 2023 — Report

Moscow, the capital city of Russia, is proposing to host the next BRICS summit, which may include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Ethiopia, Argentina, and Egypt as new members.

The data provided by the organisation showed that outside Saudi Arabia, whose economy is worth $1.06 trillion, the others except Ethiopia are way above that of Nigeria (not provided).

However, the source of the data wasn’t provided by the data analytics company.

Accordingly, Argentina is valued at $641 billion, the UAE is $499 billion, Egypt is $387 billion, Iran is $367 billion, and Ethiopia is $156 billion.

The reasons for the invitation have yet to be provided by the economic group.

Read also: BRICS extends invitations to Saudi Arabia, Iran, 4 others

Moreover, the details provided by the data analytics company showed that the BRICS nations have a combined $27.649 trillion, with China taking almost 60 percent at $19.37 trillion. The other partner nations, in no particular order, are Brazil at $2.08 trillion, Russia at $2.06 trillion, India at $3.74 trillion, and South Africa at $399 billion. Their combined total makes up over 30 percent of the global economy.

Some Nigerians have been reacting to Nigeria’s exclusion from the invitations on Twitter, the social media microblogging application.

BRICS membership (GDP):

🇧🇷 Brazil: $2.08 trillion
🇷🇺 Russia: $2.06 trillion
🇮🇳 India: $3.74 trillion
🇨🇳 China: $19.37 trillion
🇿🇦 South Africa: $399 billion

Join BRICS starting from January 1st, 2024:

🇦🇷 Argentina: $641 billion
🇪🇬 Egypt: $387 billion
🇪🇹 Ethiopia: $156…

— World of Statistics (@stats_feed) August 24, 2023

Remi Adekoya, a lecturer of Political Science at the University of York, England, with more than 20k followers, reacted rather surprised to the missed opportunity.

He, however, didn’t fault the exclusion because, according to him, the rapid fall in the naira, Nigeria’s currency, would have reduced the international value of our economy.

He tweeted, “Interesting. Egypt is now Africa’s 2nd-largest economy with a $387bln GDP, behind South Africa’s $399bln. Nigeria used to be Africa’s largest economy. But at current rate of 773 naira to $1, Nigeria’s 198 trillion-naira GDP makes it a $255bln economy, a distant 3rd in Africa.”

St. Paul, reacting to Adekoya’s tweet, blamed former President Buhari for the misfortune of a failing economy. He tweeted, “The Buhari govt was doing a 0–60 reverse manoeuvre.”

Another tweep, Ok then, with more than 20k followers, also reacted, admitting that if the data is true, then it marks one of the most stunning reversals in recent times.

He tweeted, “This makes sense to me given the drama with the naira. Although if confirmed by the IMF next month, this would mark one of the more stunning economic reversals in recent times. South Africa: $399 billion Egypt: $387 billion Nigeria: $250-$300 billion range?”