Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa with a rapidly expanding population of over 180 million. By 2030, Nigeria is set to be the third most populous country on the planet with 263 million inhabitants, placing it behind only China and India.

As of 2015, Nigeria is the world’s 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and purchasing power parity respectively. It overtook South Africa to become Africa’s largest economy in 2014.

Lagos, the commercial hub of the country, has over 21 million inhabitants and is the largest city in Africa. If considered in its own right, Lagos State’s GDP of $131 billion ranks as the 6th largest economy in Africa

Nigeria and Overseas Treatment

• President Muhammadu Buhari recently spent over 3 months in the UK receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed illness.
• Nigeria has no cardio-thoracic centres that handle heart emergencies.
• Over 5,000 Nigerians travel abroad for treatment every month.
• Nigerians travelling overseas for treatment are estimated to account for a foreign exchange expenditure of over $2 billion each year.

Nigeria is wanting to find the right balance between Nigerians wanting to travel abroad for medical care while investing to improve healthcare facilities in Nigeria.

• In December 2017, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced it will release 13,980 billion Naira (currently approx US$38.8 billion) to teaching hospitals, medical centres and specialist hospitals across the country.
• It has recently committed $11 billion to open 10,000 primary healthcare centres across the country