Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has leaped 39 steps on the latest Forbes list of the most powerful women in the world. She moved from No 83 to No 44.

Other African women nominated along with Okonjo-Iweala are Malawi’s President Joyce Banda, (No 40), Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (No 70) and Nigeria’s oil magnet, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, one of the richest people in the world (No 94).

In accompanying profile, Forbes said that since Okonjo-Iweala’s return as Minister of Finance, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) “has displayed robust growth – 6.87% growth between 2012 and 2013 – especially given the relatively sluggish global recovery.” It stated that “Okonjo-Iweala was key to developing the reform programs that helped stabilize Nigeria’s economy and improve governmental transparency” adding that “she has now turned her attention to Nigeria’s 14% unemployment rate.”

President Angela Merkel of Germany and Janet Yellen, recently appointed the first woman to head the US Federal Reserve Board (central bank), are numbers 1 and 2 on the list.

Melinda Gates, President Dilma Roussef of Brazil, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama also feature prominently on the list.

•Photo shows Okonjo-Iweala.