paragraph_text: As of 2015[update], Nigeria is the world's 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and purchasing power parity respectively. It overtook South Africa to become Africa's largest economy in 2014. Also, the debt-to-GDP ratio is only 11 percent, which is 8 percent below the 2012 ratio. Nigeria is considered to be an emerging market by the World Bank; It has been identified as a regional power on the African continent, a middle power in international affairs, and has also been identified as an emerging global power. Nigeria is a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the globe's next "BRIC-like" economies. It is also listed among the "Next Eleven" economies set to become among the biggest in the world. Nigeria is a founding member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the African Union, OPEC, and the United Nations amongst other international organisations.

paragraph_text: OPEC's stated mission is ``to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets, in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers, and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry. ''The organization is also a significant provider of information about the international oil market. As of May 2017, OPEC's members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (the de facto leader), United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela, while Indonesia is a former member. Two - thirds of OPEC's oil production and reserves are in its six Middle Eastern countries that surround the oil - rich Persian Gulf.

paragraph_text: On a total scale the region has approximately 34,700,201 inhabitants who are spread among 30,000 islands in the South Pacific bordered between Asia and the Americas. This region has a diverse mix of economies from the highly developed and globally competitive financial market of Australia to the much less developed economies that belong to many of its island neighbours. New Zealand is the only other developed country in the region, although the economy of Australia is by far the largest and most dominant economy in the region and one of the largest in the world.

paragraph_text: The region's economy greatly depends on agriculture; rice and rubber have long been prominent exports. Manufacturing and services are becoming more important. An emerging market, Indonesia is the largest economy in this region. Newly industrialised countries include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, while Singapore and Brunei are affluent developed economies. The rest of Southeast Asia is still heavily dependent on agriculture, but Vietnam is notably making steady progress in developing its industrial sectors. The region notably manufactures textiles, electronic high-tech goods such as microprocessors and heavy industrial products such as automobiles. Oil reserves in Southeast Asia are plentiful.

paragraph_text: Japan and Germany are great powers too, though due to their large advanced economies (having the third and fourth largest economies respectively) rather than their strategic and hard power capabilities (i.e., the lack of permanent seats and veto power on the UN Security Council or strategic military reach). Germany has been a member together with the five permanent Security Council members in the P5+1 grouping of world powers. Like China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom; Germany and Japan have also been referred to as middle powers.

paragraph_text: The foundation for the influential position held by Germany today was laid during the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) of the 1950s when West Germany rose from the enormous destruction wrought by World War II to become the world's third - largest economy. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for a full alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present - day European Union. When the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well.

paragraph_text: Nadim al-Pachachi (18 March 1914 – 29 February 1976) was the Secretary-General of OPEC from January 1971 until December 1972. Born in Baghdad during the Ottoman Empire, he received a doctorate in petroleum engineering and worked in the Romanian oil fields as a young man. He served as the Minister of Economy in the Iraqi government from 1952 until 1957. He was arrested during the 14 July Revolution in 1958.

paragraph_text: Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the tenth member to join the European Communities (precursor to the European Union) and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. It is also a member of numerous other international institutions, including the Council of Europe, NATO,[a] OECD, OIF, OSCE and the WTO. Greece, which is one of the world's largest shipping powers, middle powers and top tourist destinations, has the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor.

paragraph_text: Japan is a member of the ASEAN Plus mechanism, UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, and the G20, and is considered a great power. Its economy is the world's third-largest by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest by purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer.

paragraph_text: OFID played a significant role in the establishment of IFAD, channeling US$861.1 million in contributions from OPEC member countries towards the agency’s initial capital and first replenishment. Since IFAD's creation, OPEC member states have maintained their firm support of the agency, contributing to additional replenishments of its resources. In addition, OFID itself has given a further US$20 million as a special contribution from its own resources.

paragraph_text: Petroleum was discovered on 3 March 1938 and followed up by several other finds in the Eastern Province. Saudi Arabia has since become the world's second largest oil producer (behind the US) and the world's largest oil exporter, controlling the world's second largest oil reserves and the sixth largest gas reserves. The kingdom is categorized as a World Bank high-income economy with a high Human Development Index and is the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies. The state has attracted criticism for a variety of reasons including: its archaic treatment of women, its excessive and often extrajudicial use of capital punishment, state-sponsored discrimination against religious minorities and atheists, its role in the Yemeni Civil War, sponsorship of Islamic terrorists, and its strict interpretation of Sharia law. The kingdom has the world's third-highest military expenditure and, according to SIPRI, was the world's second largest arms importer from 2010 to 2014. Saudi Arabia is considered a regional and middle power. In addition to the GCC, it is an active member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and OPEC.

paragraph_text: The economy of India is an underdeveloped mixed economy. It is the world's seventh - largest economy by nominal GDP and the third - largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). The country ranks 141st in per capita GDP (nominal) with $1723 and 123rd in per capita GDP (PPP) with $6,616 as of 2016. After 1991 economic liberalisation, India achieved 6 - 7% average GDP growth annually. In FY 2015 India's economy became the world's fastest growing major economy surpassing China. The long - term growth prospective of the Indian economy is positive due to its young population, corresponding low dependency ratio, healthy savings and investment rates, and increasing integration into the global economy.

paragraph_text: Country Region Membership Years Population (2016 est.) Area (km) Oil Production (bbl / day, 2016) Proven Reserves (bbl, 2016) Algeria North Africa 1969 -- 40,606,052 2,381,740 1,348,361 12,200,000,000 Angola Southern Africa 2007 -- 28,813,463 1,246,700 1,769,615 8,423,000,000 Ecuador Americas 1973 -- 1992, 2007 -- 16,385,068 283,560 548,421 8,273,000,000 Equatorial Guinea Western Africa 2017 -- 1,221,490 28,051 227,000 1,100,000,000 Gabon Western Africa 1975 -- 1995, 2016 -- 1,979,786 267,667 210,820 2,000,000,000 Iran Middle East 1960 -- 80,277,428 1,648,000 3,990,956 157,530,000,000 Iraq Middle East 1960 -- 37,202,572 437,072 4,451,516 143,069,000,000 Kuwait Middle East 1960 -- 4,052,584 17,820 2,923,825 101,500,000,000 Libya North Africa 1962 -- 6,293,253 1,759,540 384,686 48,363,000,000 Nigeria Western Africa 1971 -- 185,989,640 923,768 1,999,885 37,070,000,000 Qatar Middle East 1961 -- 2,569,804 11,437 1,522,902 25,244,000,000 Saudi Arabia Middle East 1960 -- 32,275,687 2,149,690 10,460,710 266,578,000,000 United Arab Emirates Middle East 1967 -- 9,269,612 83,600 3,106,077 97,800,000,000 Venezuela Americas 1960 -- 31,568,179 912,050 2,276,967 299,953,000,000 OPEC Total 478,498,000 12,150,695 35,221,740 1,209,103,000,000 World Total 7,588,065,000 510,072,000 80,622,287 1,650,585,000,000 OPEC Percent 6% 2% 44% 73%

paragraph_text: Because of oversupply and lack of agreements between oil - producing countries members of the OPEC (Saudi Arabia in particular, which pumped at world's records) and also because of lack of coordinated efforts between OPEC and Non-OPEC countries (Russian being a big player, refusing to reduce production) the price of oil fell rapidly in 2015 and continued to slide in 2016 causing the cost of WTI crude to fall to a 10 - year low of $26.55 on January 20. The average price of oil in January 2016 was well below $35. Oil did not recover until April 2016, when oil went above the $45 mark.

paragraph_text: Seattle's economy is driven by a mix of older industrial companies, and "new economy" Internet and technology companies, service, design and clean technology companies. The city's gross metropolitan product was $231 billion in 2010, making it the 11th largest metropolitan economy in the United States. The Port of Seattle, which also operates Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, is a major gateway for trade with Asia and cruises to Alaska, and is the 8th largest port in the United States in terms of container capacity. Though it was affected by the Great Recession, Seattle has retained a comparatively strong economy, and remains a hotbed for start-up businesses, especially in green building and clean technologies: it was ranked as America's No. 1 "smarter city" based on its government policies and green economy. In February 2010, the city government committed Seattle to becoming North America's first "climate neutral" city, with a goal of reaching zero net per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

paragraph_text: BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Originally the first four were grouped as ``BRIC ''(or`` the BRICs''), before the induction of South Africa in 2010. The BRICS members are all leading developing or newly industrialized countries, but they are distinguished by their large, sometimes fast - growing economies and significant influence on regional affairs; all five are G - 20 members. Since 2009, the BRICS nations have met annually at formal summits. China hosted the 9th BRICS summit in Xiamen on September 3rd, 4th and 5th, 2017. The term does not include countries such as South Korea, Mexico and Turkey for which other acronyms and group associations were later created.

paragraph_text: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, / ˈoʊpɛk / OH - pek, or OPEP in several other languages) is an intergovernmental organization of 14 nations as of May 2017, founded in 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela), and headquartered since 1965 in Vienna. As of 2016, the 14 countries accounted for an estimated 44 percent of global oil production and 73 percent of the world's ``proven ''oil reserves, giving OPEC a major influence on global oil prices that were previously determined by American - dominated multinational oil companies.

paragraph_text: The US economy is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well - developed infrastructure, and high productivity. It has second highest total estimated value of natural resources, valued at $45 trillion in 2016. Americans have the highest average household and employee income among OECD nations, and in 2010 had the fourth highest median household income, down from second highest in 2007. It has been the world's largest national economy (not including colonial empires) since at least the 1890s. The U.S. is the world's third largest producer of oil and natural gas. In 2016, it was the largest trading nation in the world as well as the world's second largest manufacturer, representing a fifth of the global manufacturing output. The US also has not only the largest economy, but also the largest Industrial sector, at 2005 prices according to the UNCTAD. The US not only has the largest internal market for goods, but also dominates the trade in services. US total trade amounted to $4.92 trillion in 2016. Of the world's 500 largest companies, 134 are headquartered in the US.

paragraph_text: During the oil boom of the 1970s, Nigeria joined OPEC and the huge revenue generated made the economy richer. Despite huge revenues from oil production and sale, the military administration did little to improve the standard of living of the population, help small and medium businesses, or invest in infrastructure. As oil revenues fuelled the rise of federal subventions to states, the federal government became the centre of political struggle and the threshold of power in the country. As oil production and revenue rose, the Nigerian government became increasingly dependent on oil revenues and the international commodity markets for budgetary and economic concerns. It did not develop other sources of the economy for economic stability. That spelled doom to federalism in Nigeria.

paragraph_text: The top reserve currency is generally selected by the banking community for the strength and stability of the economy in which it is used. Thus, as a currency becomes less stable, or its economy becomes less dominant, bankers may over time abandon it for a currency issued by a larger or more stable economy. This can take a relatively long time, as recognition is important in determining a reserve currency. For example, it took many years after the United States overtook the United Kingdom as the world's largest economy before the dollar overtook the pound sterling as the dominant global reserve currency. In 1944, when the US dollar was chosen as the world reference currency at Bretton Woods, it was only the second currency in global reserves.

Question: When did the country with the largest economy in Africa become a member of OPEC?
Answer: 1971