Nigeria has became Africa's biggest economy, leap-frogging South Africa, after the government announced a long-overdue rebasing of the country's gross domestic product.
The new calculations take into account changes in production and consumption since the last time the exercise was carried out in 1990, including an added focus on communications and the movie industry.
The data indicated yesterday that the economy grew to USD 453 billion in 2012, instead of USD 264 billion as measured by the World Bank for that year.
South Africa's economy was at USD 384 billion in 2012, according to the World Bank.
Estimates for 2013 indicated further expansion to USD 510 billion, Nigeria's chief statistician, Yemi Kale, told a news conference in the capital, Abuja.
"Nigeria has moved to be the largest economy by GDP size in Africa and has moved to be the 26th largest economy in the world," finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said.
"On a per capita basis, Nigeria is number 121 in the world. So, we have a total GDP size where we have moved up to 26th," the former World Bank managing director added.
The widely expected results are based on calculations taking into account a range of new sectors and industries that were negligible or non-existent in 1990.
They include the mobile telephones market - Africa's largest -- music and the hugely popular local film industry, Nollywood.
Nollywood, for example, was now worth USD 5.1 billion or 1.2 per cent of GDP.
"The rebased GDP numbers imply that the level of economic activity is much higher than previously reported," the finance ministry said in a statement, adding that the economy was becoming more driven by the service sector.
"It indicates a clearer picture of Nigeria's economic landscape, and the significant opportunity for growth and wealth creation in the Nigerian economy."
South African economists pointed out that their country remains the most important economy in the continent despite being overtaken by Nigeria as Africa's biggest.
