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Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves fall below $25b

By Chijioke Nelson
19 September 2016   |   5:03 am
Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have plummeted to a new low of $24.88 billion, indicating dwindling confidence in the economy, despite reassurances by authorities.
PHOTO:AFP

PHOTO:AFP

• Lose $1.6b post-flexible policy
• $1b Eurobond to hold mid December amid poor sovereign rating

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have plummeted to a new low of $24.88 billion, indicating dwindling confidence in the economy, despite reassurances by authorities.

In the last one week, it lost $230 million, understandably due to series of interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as post recession announcement pressure continued.

The previous week, the reserves lost about $123 million, attributed to interventions in the interbank market by the regulator, and aimed at supporting the local currency.

This is in contrast with about $93 million the reserves lost in three weeks, also reflecting reactions over the flurry of negative records released recently by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics.

Since affirmation of the country’s slip into recession, last experienced more than 25 years ago, the reserves have lost about $540 million, as speculations and panic for store of value in dollar heightened.

CBN has emerged the major player in the interbank market since the inception of the new regime, except when, recently, foreign investors staked about $270 million, while others remained cautious.

The reserves have also lost about $1.6 billion since the inauguration of the flexible exchange rate, even as the apex bank steps up modification of its rules, to attract foreign investors, including those associated with investments in government securities.

Expected convergence of the interbank and parallel markets exchange rates remain unattainable at the moment, as the liquidity crisis in the currency market persists, pushing both rates apart. At the parallel market, the local unit ended last week at N425/$.

Although, no particular date has been announced, the planned $1 billion Eurobonds by the government is being mooted to hold between November and mid-December.

The head of the nation’s debt broker, Abraham Nwankwo, has already affirmed that all borrowings would be used for capital projects, while ensuring that local partners to the deal, like banks, are well involved.

A new twist, however, has emerged, with sudden downgrade of the country’s credit rating, even as it battles the stigma of recession within the investment community.

The development shows two fundamentals about the feasibility of the debt deal: general acceptability of the bond among the international community, and cost.

8 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    But Buhari told us he met an empty treasury, and that GEJ had cleaned out our foreign reserve. Please, how did the foreign reserve “fall below…”? When did the foreign reserve rise? And to what level did it rise?

    • Author’s gravatar

      It is a shame you know even the countries like NEPAL one of the poorest countries in the has more foreign exchange reserve than Nigeria: check this:
      RANK COUNTRY RESERVES OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE AND GOLD DATE OF INFORMATION
      1 CHINA $3,217,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      2 JAPAN $1,261,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      3 EUROPEAN UNION $740,900,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      4 SAUDI ARABIA $660,100,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      5 SWITZERLAND $545,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      6 TAIWAN $426,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      7 RUSSIA $377,800,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      8 INDIA $370,700,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      9 KOREA, SOUTH $368,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      10 BRAZIL $359,400,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      11 HONG KONG $341,300,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      12 SINGAPORE $262,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      13 MEXICO $204,100,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      14 GERMANY $192,800,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      15 ALGERIA $155,700,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      16 THAILAND $148,600,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      17 FRANCE $143,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      18 ITALY $142,200,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      19 UNITED STATES $130,100,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      20 TURKEY $118,300,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      21 UNITED KINGDOM $107,700,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      22 INDONESIA $103,400,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      23 DENMARK $102,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      24 POLAND $94,750,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      25 IRAN $93,950,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      26 ISRAEL $91,610,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      27 MALAYSIA $89,860,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      28 PHILIPPINES $80,670,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      29 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES $79,920,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      30 CANADA $74,700,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      31 CZECHIA $73,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      32 NEPAL $71,830,000,000 30 JULY 2015 EST.
      33 NORWAY $64,800,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      34 SWEDEN $62,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      35 LIBYA $61,630,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      36 PERU $58,990,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      37 IRAQ $57,070,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      38 AUSTRALIA $55,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      39 SPAIN $50,350,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      40 LEBANON $49,610,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      41 COLOMBIA $45,020,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      42 SOUTH AFRICA $44,280,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      43 NETHERLANDS $42,920,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      44 QATAR $42,770,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      45 VIETNAM $39,600,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      46 HUNGARY $39,390,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      47 CHILE $38,910,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      48 ROMANIA $37,330,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      49 KUWAIT $31,430,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      50 KAZAKHSTAN $29,310,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      51 NIGERIA $28,760,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      52 ARGENTINA $28,220,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      53 BANGLADESH $26,410,000,000 30 NOVEMBER 2015 EST.
      54 BELGIUM $25,400,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      55 BULGARIA $22,750,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      56 TURKMENISTAN $22,640,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      57 AUSTRIA $22,240,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      58 MOROCCO $21,350,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      59 PORTUGAL $19,620,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      60 PAKISTAN $18,680,000,000 FY2015 EST.
      61 ANGOLA $18,460,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      62 NEW ZEALAND $17,840,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      63 URUGUAY $17,480,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      64 JORDAN $17,220,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      65 EGYPT $17,050,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      66 MACAU $16,440,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      67 OMAN $15,720,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      68 VENEZUELA $15,410,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      69 UZBEKISTAN $15,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      70 BOLIVIA $14,680,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      71 CROATIA $13,940,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      72 UKRAINE $13,150,000,000 30 NOVEMBER 2015 EST.
      73 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO $11,690,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      74 SERBIA $11,680,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      75 CUBA $11,600,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      76 FINLAND $11,100,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      77 BURMA $9,417,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      78 LITHUANIA $8,728,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      79 AZERBAIJAN $8,513,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      80 BOTSWANA $7,990,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      81 COSTA RICA $7,578,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      82 LATVIA $7,507,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      83 GUATEMALA $7,473,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      84 KENYA $7,356,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      85 TUNISIA $7,225,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      86 CAMBODIA $7,091,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      87 SRI LANKA $7,065,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      88 PARAGUAY $7,028,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      89 AFGHANISTAN $6,681,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      90 GREECE $6,433,000,000 FEBRUARY 2015 EST.
      91 GHANA $5,617,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      92 ICELAND $5,289,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      93 BAHRAIN $5,051,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      94 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC $4,962,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      95 COTE D’IVOIRE $4,882,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      96 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA $4,625,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      97 BELARUS $4,410,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      98 CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE $4,407,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      99 PANAMA $4,182,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      100 TANZANIA $4,021,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      101 MAURITIUS $3,732,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      102 UGANDA $3,681,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      103 ETHIOPIA $3,589,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      104 HONDURAS $3,543,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      105 ECUADOR $3,128,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      106 PAPUA NEW GUINEA $2,966,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      107 ALBANIA $2,852,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      108 ZAMBIA $2,716,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      109 JAMAICA $2,700,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      110 EL SALVADOR $2,660,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      111 SLOVAKIA $2,640,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      112 MACEDONIA $2,615,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      113 MOZAMBIQUE $2,528,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      114 CAMEROON $2,510,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      115 GEORGIA $2,422,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      116 NICARAGUA $2,320,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      117 YEMEN $2,309,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      118 SENEGAL $2,099,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      119 KYRGYZSTAN $1,916,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      120 EQUATORIAL GUINEA $1,903,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      121 GABON $1,825,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      122 HAITI $1,803,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      123 MOLDOVA $1,757,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      124 IRELAND $1,748,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      125 CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE $1,443,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      126 ARMENIA $1,209,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      127 NAMIBIA $1,135,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      128 CHAD $1,111,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      129 RWANDA $1,028,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      130 LUXEMBOURG $1,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      131 LESOTHO $980,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      132 LAOS $976,300,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      133 SYRIA $967,600,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      134 MADAGASCAR $962,900,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      135 SLOVENIA $961,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      136 BAHAMAS, THE $950,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      137 FIJI $903,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      138 CYPRUS $864,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      139 BENIN $808,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      140 MALAWI $743,400,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      141 BARBADOS $662,600,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      142 BELIZE $634,100,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      143 MALDIVES $627,400,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      144 SURINAME $625,200,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      145 GUYANA $614,300,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      146 MONTENEGRO $599,600,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      147 SWAZILAND $572,300,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      148 SEYCHELLES $549,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      149 ESTONIA $509,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      150 TOGO $494,300,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      151 CABO VERDE $491,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      152 ZIMBABWE $457,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      153 TAJIKISTAN $430,300,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      154 MALTA $415,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      155 SAN MARINO $392,000,000 2014 EST.
      156 BURKINA FASO $362,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      157 BURUNDI $315,700,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      158 GUINEA $302,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      159 ERITREA $247,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      160 VANUATU $213,400,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      161 SUDAN $172,400,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      162 TONGA $166,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      163 SAMOA $140,700,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      164 SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES $135,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      165 DOMINICA $100,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      166 GAMBIA, THE $82,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      167 MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF $75,060,000 31 DECEMBER 2011 EST.
      168 SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE $64,100,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      169 MONTSERRAT $32,080,000 31 DECEMBER 2012 EST.
      170 SOMALIA $30,450,000 2014 EST.
      #closeNigerianEconomy#

    • Author’s gravatar

      From the day of handover on 29th may 2015 till 15th Sep 2016 the foreign deserve has fallen from $32 billion to below $25billio. That is approximately $7b used up within 16 months we are in real problems and only God can deliver us

  • Author’s gravatar

    It may not be out of place to suggest that Nigeria be turned into a closed economy till we are sure that we can operate an open economy. A closed economy would do away with all sorts of imports thereby eliminating the need for foreign reserve. Protectionism was the dominant economics in the 19th century. Many countries would be patient with us till we sort ourselves out. The central question is: what can we do to eliminate completely the need for holding foreign reserves? Ans: Boycott all manner of imports. Can we survive without imports? Yes.

    • Author’s gravatar

      It is a shame you know even the countries like NEPAL one of the poorest countries in the has more foreign exchange reserve than Nigeria: check this:
      RANK COUNTRY RESERVES OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE AND GOLD DATE OF INFORMATION
      1 CHINA $3,217,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      2 JAPAN $1,261,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      3 EUROPEAN UNION $740,900,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      4 SAUDI ARABIA $660,100,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      5 SWITZERLAND $545,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      6 TAIWAN $426,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      7 RUSSIA $377,800,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      8 INDIA $370,700,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      9 KOREA, SOUTH $368,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      10 BRAZIL $359,400,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      11 HONG KONG $341,300,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      12 SINGAPORE $262,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      13 MEXICO $204,100,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      14 GERMANY $192,800,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      15 ALGERIA $155,700,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      16 THAILAND $148,600,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      17 FRANCE $143,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      18 ITALY $142,200,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      19 UNITED STATES $130,100,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      20 TURKEY $118,300,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      21 UNITED KINGDOM $107,700,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      22 INDONESIA $103,400,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      23 DENMARK $102,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      24 POLAND $94,750,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      25 IRAN $93,950,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      26 ISRAEL $91,610,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      27 MALAYSIA $89,860,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      28 PHILIPPINES $80,670,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      29 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES $79,920,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      30 CANADA $74,700,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      31 CZECHIA $73,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      32 NEPAL $71,830,000,000 30 JULY 2015 EST.
      33 NORWAY $64,800,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      34 SWEDEN $62,500,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      35 LIBYA $61,630,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      36 PERU $58,990,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      37 IRAQ $57,070,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      38 AUSTRALIA $55,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      39 SPAIN $50,350,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      40 LEBANON $49,610,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      41 COLOMBIA $45,020,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      42 SOUTH AFRICA $44,280,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      43 NETHERLANDS $42,920,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      44 QATAR $42,770,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      45 VIETNAM $39,600,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      46 HUNGARY $39,390,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      47 CHILE $38,910,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      48 ROMANIA $37,330,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      49 KUWAIT $31,430,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      50 KAZAKHSTAN $29,310,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      51 NIGERIA $28,760,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      52 ARGENTINA $28,220,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      53 BANGLADESH $26,410,000,000 30 NOVEMBER 2015 EST.
      54 BELGIUM $25,400,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      55 BULGARIA $22,750,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      56 TURKMENISTAN $22,640,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      57 AUSTRIA $22,240,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      58 MOROCCO $21,350,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      59 PORTUGAL $19,620,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      60 PAKISTAN $18,680,000,000 FY2015 EST.
      61 ANGOLA $18,460,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      62 NEW ZEALAND $17,840,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      63 URUGUAY $17,480,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      64 JORDAN $17,220,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      65 EGYPT $17,050,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      66 MACAU $16,440,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      67 OMAN $15,720,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      68 VENEZUELA $15,410,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      69 UZBEKISTAN $15,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      70 BOLIVIA $14,680,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      71 CROATIA $13,940,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      72 UKRAINE $13,150,000,000 30 NOVEMBER 2015 EST.
      73 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO $11,690,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      74 SERBIA $11,680,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      75 CUBA $11,600,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      76 FINLAND $11,100,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      77 BURMA $9,417,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      78 LITHUANIA $8,728,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      79 AZERBAIJAN $8,513,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      80 BOTSWANA $7,990,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      81 COSTA RICA $7,578,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      82 LATVIA $7,507,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      83 GUATEMALA $7,473,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      84 KENYA $7,356,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      85 TUNISIA $7,225,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      86 CAMBODIA $7,091,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      87 SRI LANKA $7,065,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      88 PARAGUAY $7,028,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      89 AFGHANISTAN $6,681,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      90 GREECE $6,433,000,000 FEBRUARY 2015 EST.
      91 GHANA $5,617,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      92 ICELAND $5,289,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      93 BAHRAIN $5,051,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      94 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC $4,962,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      95 COTE D’IVOIRE $4,882,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      96 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA $4,625,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      97 BELARUS $4,410,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      98 CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE $4,407,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      99 PANAMA $4,182,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      100 TANZANIA $4,021,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      101 MAURITIUS $3,732,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      102 UGANDA $3,681,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      103 ETHIOPIA $3,589,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      104 HONDURAS $3,543,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      105 ECUADOR $3,128,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      106 PAPUA NEW GUINEA $2,966,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      107 ALBANIA $2,852,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      108 ZAMBIA $2,716,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      109 JAMAICA $2,700,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      110 EL SALVADOR $2,660,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      111 SLOVAKIA $2,640,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      112 MACEDONIA $2,615,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      113 MOZAMBIQUE $2,528,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      114 CAMEROON $2,510,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      115 GEORGIA $2,422,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      116 NICARAGUA $2,320,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      117 YEMEN $2,309,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      118 SENEGAL $2,099,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      119 KYRGYZSTAN $1,916,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      120 EQUATORIAL GUINEA $1,903,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      121 GABON $1,825,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      122 HAITI $1,803,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      123 MOLDOVA $1,757,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      124 IRELAND $1,748,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      125 CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE $1,443,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      126 ARMENIA $1,209,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      127 NAMIBIA $1,135,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      128 CHAD $1,111,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      129 RWANDA $1,028,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      130 LUXEMBOURG $1,000,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      131 LESOTHO $980,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      132 LAOS $976,300,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      133 SYRIA $967,600,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      134 MADAGASCAR $962,900,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      135 SLOVENIA $961,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      136 BAHAMAS, THE $950,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      137 FIJI $903,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      138 CYPRUS $864,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      139 BENIN $808,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      140 MALAWI $743,400,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      141 BARBADOS $662,600,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      142 BELIZE $634,100,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      143 MALDIVES $627,400,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      144 SURINAME $625,200,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      145 GUYANA $614,300,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      146 MONTENEGRO $599,600,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      147 SWAZILAND $572,300,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      148 SEYCHELLES $549,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      149 ESTONIA $509,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      150 TOGO $494,300,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      151 CABO VERDE $491,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      152 ZIMBABWE $457,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      153 TAJIKISTAN $430,300,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      154 MALTA $415,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      155 SAN MARINO $392,000,000 2014 EST.
      156 BURKINA FASO $362,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      157 BURUNDI $315,700,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      158 GUINEA $302,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      159 ERITREA $247,800,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      160 VANUATU $213,400,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      161 SUDAN $172,400,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      162 TONGA $166,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      163 SAMOA $140,700,000 31 DECEMBER 2014 EST.
      164 SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES $135,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      165 DOMINICA $100,000,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      166 GAMBIA, THE $82,500,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      167 MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF $75,060,000 31 DECEMBER 2011 EST.
      168 SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE $64,100,000 31 DECEMBER 2015 EST.
      169 MONTSERRAT $32,080,000 31 DECEMBER 2012 EST.
      170 SOMALIA $30,450,000 2014 EST.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Well said. Look at China today after decades of running a closed economy. But one thing has to be said, we are not willing to put in the effort to build our economy. It’s not just corruption that is our problem. After all, the western economies were built on the worst form of corruption that ever existed, slavery and colonialism. We are lazy. We want an easy way out all the time. Some people may find that offensive but it’s the hard truth. Maybe the “change begins with me” program can address that, but they need to start at the nursery and primary school levels. It’s much too late for the rest of us.