The United States Department of Agriculture has listed Nigeria as the only African country to be amongst the top 20 economies in the world by 2030.

The U.S agency, in its latest macroeconomic projections that go up to 2030, stated that the US will continue to lead the world economies with a GDP of about $24.8 trillion and expected to be closely trailed by China with about $22.2 trillion.

India will follow in the third place based on their projections with $6.6 trillion.

The report put Nigeria at second from bottom (19th) at $1 trillion and the only African country in the list. Nigeria surpassed South Africa in 2013 as largest economy in Africa after it concluded its GDP rebasing exercise.

It would be recalled that PriceWaterhouseCoopers had earlier, based on forecast, stated that Nigeria will be the fastest growing economy on earth from by 2050.

In the overall ranking, Jamaica will surrender the most ground, bumping down 13 places to 136. Countries with the biggest advances — like Uganda, which will climb 18 spots to rank 91 — are concentrated in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

It’s important to take estimates stretching out so far with a note of caution, though.

“There are lots of uncertainties,” said Kasman. “Whether China grows at 4 percent or 6 percent matters an awful lot for where it looks like it’s going to be in the global economy. Whether India grows at 3 percent or 8 percent — these are huge differences when you compound them over long periods of time.”

The USDA is not the only — and hardly the most widely-followed — ranking of global economic growth, though it does offer the advantage of particularly long-term outlooks. The International Monetary Fund’seconomic outlook only projects out two years. Look out for it later this month.