Nigeria, Africas most populous country, has been ranked 11th in Hankes 2021 Annual Misery Index.
The figures, published on the verified Twitter handle of a Professor of Applied Economics at John Hopkins University in the US, Steve Hanke, showed that Nigeria was the fourth most miserable country in Africa last year, only behind Sudan, Zimbabwe and Angola.
According to the report, the five least miserable countries were Brunei, Switzerland, China, Taiwan, and Japan. The United States ranked 95th, making it the 14th least miserable nation of the 108 countries on the table.
The report, which analysed 156 countries by calculating their unemployment rates, said inflation, prevailing lending rates and GDP growth, pushed Nigeria from 15th among the most miserable countries in the worlds ranking in 2020 to 11th in 2021.
The latest report by the economic expert once again underlines the instability of Nigerias economy in the last seven years, captured by two recessions between 2016 and 2019.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, increased to 15.92% year-on-year in March 2022. Figures by the NBS also pegged Nigerias unemployment rate at an all-time high of 33.3%.
The latest figures bring Nigerias misery index points to 49.22, a significant increase from the 41.12 index points recorded at the start of Buharis term.
In a recent report, titled: Africa Faces New Shock as War Raises Food and Fuel Costs, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its Regional Economic Outlook, stated that it expected Nigerias economic growth to slow to 3.8% this year, from last years 4.5%.
The report said the effects of Russias invasion on Ukraine would be deeply consequential, eroding standards of living and aggravating macroeconomic imbalances.
Inflation in the region is expected to remain elevated in 2022 and 2023 at 12.2% and 9.6% respectively the first time since 2008 that regional average inflation will reach such high levels, the report said.
