The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that Nigeria’s fiscal balance is estimated to increase considerably. More specifically, general government deficit is projected to widen from 4.8 to 5.9 percent of GDP between 2019 and 2020.1 Also, public debt is projected to increase substantially to 34 percent of GDP in 2020 from 29.1 percent in 2019. The increase in government general deficit can be attributed to sharp revenue declines occasioned by the pandemic. Although revenue could increase given the increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate from 5 to 7.5 percent in 2020, and expenditure savings from the removal of power sector and fuel subsidies, the concurrent increase in expenditure related to COVID-19 emergency support will drive the widening fiscal deficit. However, as domestic activities recover to pre-COVID levels and spending on household and businesses vulnerable to the pandemic tapers down, the fiscal deficit is projected to narrow in 2021.
February 19, 2021
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 6)
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 3)
The
Nigeria stock market indices; All Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalization
declined by 2.4 percent to close at 26537.36 points and N9.12 trillion
respectively at the end of the trade session this week8 The decline
in the indices, which is attributed to the low subscription for stocks in the
market, led to the partnership between Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)
and Debt Management Office (DMO) to salvage the financial system.