Nigeria\u2019s economy is\u00a0the fourth fastest\u00a0growing worldwide, a World Bank official, Richard Sandock, has said.<\/span><\/p>\n He listed other countries that recorded significant growth in their economies to include the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India China,<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking at \u00a0the Seventh National Conference on Investment in Abuja at the weekend, Sandock said: \u201cNigeria has slowly been coming up and has finally taken over from Russia and South Africa. \u201c<\/span><\/p>\n Nigeria had recorded a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 10.3 per cent, 10.6 per cent, 5.4 per cent, 6.2 per cent, 7 per cent, 6 per cent, 7 per cent and 7.4 per cent in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 . As the second quarter of 2011, the country\u2019s economy had grown by 7.72 per cent and is projected to hit 7.98 per cent by the end of the year. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The World Bank official noted that all sectors of the \u00a0economy contributed to the growth, adding \u00a0that in spite of the growth, Nigeria is still facing serious crisis in the labour market.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn spite of the huge growth Nigeria is making, the labour market is still very choked up, as about \u00a0 four million Nigerians are jobless.Though there are changes in Nigeria, most times, it is not about incentives, but the system of the government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe system should be there for every kind of change. \u00a0Investors need stability and predictability, meaning in 10 years, their investment will be as protected as the day they came into that country,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sandock, said, all the government needs is to ensure that the environment is conducive and safe for business to thrive. These days, it is all about the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), let investors do their thing, that is most important in any growing economy, he added.<\/span><\/p>\n Two leading experts – Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) and researchers at Standard Chartered Bank, had earlier the year predicted that the Nigerian economy would overtake that of South Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Some economies of the biggest seven emerging countries (China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey \u2013 the E7), as well as South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, will by that time be bigger than those of the G7 (the US, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada), according to the report published on the website of Fin24.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0PwC\u2019s The World in 2050 report, forecast that Nigeria and Vietnam will replace South Africa and Australia\u2019s positions on the list of the 20 biggest economies in the world simply because their economies will show faster growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n