As Nigeria grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades, many wonder if things will ever get better. Macro-economic indicators have breached territories not seen in years and is expected to worsen as we approach the second half of the year. If there is however, one source for comparison then a look at the Ghanaian economy could provide some form of comfort or even fear for Nigerians depending on how you look at it.
The Ghanaian economy has been under pressure in the last couple years following the drop in commodity prices which preceded the drop in the price of oil. Ghana’s currency which is currently floating against the dollar as ranked as one of the worst performers in the last two years depreciating from about N2.5 cedis to the dollar to as high as 4.5 in 2015. It currently trades at about 3.9 Cedis to the dollar.
Here are some of Ghana’s economic indicators compared to Nigeria.
| Ghana | Nigeria | |
| MPR | 26% | 12% |
| Inflation rate | 18.7% | 13.7% |
| Treasury Bills (91 day) | 22% | 8.10% |
| GDP* | 1.30% | -0.30% |
*Ghana’s GDP numbers are as at December 2015, Nigeria’s March 2016.
Looking at the data above suggest Ghana is fairing far worse than Nigeria at least as it concerns economic indicators. The worry for Nigeria is that Ghana seems to be on the path to recovery and in contrast things appear to be getting worse in Nigeria.
