PollsAfricaWork with us
Menu
Countries
Data
Government and politics
Government directoryElectionsConstitutionscoming soon
Public money
Government budgetsAfrican economies
Everyday life
Fuel pricescoming soonMinimum wagecoming soonPublic holidayscoming soonDevelopment jobscoming soon
Research environment
Research permits and data protectioncoming soonStatistics offices and surveyscoming soonExams and universitiescoming soon
All datasets and update dates →
PulseInsights
Research services
What we doFor development partnersFor businessCapability statementClient study room login
About
About PollsAfricaMethods and standardsCredentialsContact
Work with us
African economies
Nigeria · Economy

Nigeria economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances

How large the Nigeria economy is and how fast it is growing, who invests in it, what it sells and buys, how much its citizens abroad send home, who it owes and what it holds in reserve. The latest published year is shown with each figure.

GDP
US$290.8 billion
current US$, 2025
Real GDP growth
4.0%
2025
GDP per person
US$1,224
current US$, 2025
Exports of goods
US$56.1 billion
2025
Remittances received
US$22.8 billion
2025, 7.8% of GDP
Foreign direct investment, net inflows
US$4.0 billion
2025, 1.4% of GDP

Nigeria economy snapshot: GDP, growth and income per person

Nigeria's GDP was US$290.8 billion in 2025, after real growth of 4.0%.

GDP

Current US dollars.

0200bn400bn600bn800bn201520172019202120232025GDP 2015: US$493.0 billionGDP 2016: US$404.6 billionGDP 2017: US$375.7 billionGDP 2018: US$421.7 billionGDP 2019: US$668.2 billionGDP 2020: US$598.6 billionGDP 2021: US$609.1 billionGDP 2022: US$647.0 billionGDP 2023: US$487.4 billionGDP 2024: US$252.3 billionGDP 2025: US$290.8 billion

Real GDP growth

Annual change, per cent. Red bars are contractions.

-10%-5%0%5%201520172019202120232025Real GDP growth 2015: 2.7%Real GDP growth 2016: -1.6%Real GDP growth 2017: 0.8%Real GDP growth 2018: 1.9%Real GDP growth 2019: 2.2%Real GDP growth 2020: -6.4%Real GDP growth 2021: 1.1%Real GDP growth 2022: 4.3%Real GDP growth 2023: 3.3%Real GDP growth 2024: 4.1%Real GDP growth 2025: 4.0%

GDP per person

Current US dollars.

01k2k3k4k201520172019202120232025GDP per person 2015: US$2,586GDP per person 2016: US$2,070GDP per person 2017: US$1,876GDP per person 2018: US$2,058GDP per person 2019: US$3,190GDP per person 2020: US$2,797GDP per person 2021: US$2,787GDP per person 2022: US$2,899GDP per person 2023: US$2,139GDP per person 2024: US$1,084GDP per person 2025: US$1,224

Source: World Bank, 2025. Method

Who invests in Nigeria and in what

Direct investment by investing country

Bermuda was the largest investing country in Nigeria, at 17% of inward direct investment positions in 2024.

Inward direct investment positions in Nigeria at the end of 2024: the stock of foreign direct investment, not a year's new flow. The 10 largest investing countries.

BermudaUS$7.1 billion16.9%
NetherlandsUS$6.2 billion14.8%
FranceUS$6.2 billion14.7%
British Virgin IslandsUS$5.7 billion13.7%
United KingdomUS$4.1 billion9.7%
Isle of ManUS$1.7 billion4.1%
SingaporeUS$1.7 billion4.0%
Hong KongUS$1.5 billion3.5%
SwitzerlandUS$1.1 billion2.7%
United StatesUS$1.0 billion2.5%

Source: IMF, 2024. Method

Capital imported into Nigeria, by type, sector and country of origin

The National Bureau of Statistics counts every inflow of foreign capital that is registered with the central bank: direct investment, portfolio investment and other investment such as loans. The latest quarter and the latest full year are shown. Figures are in US dollars.

Q2 2024

Portfolio investment made up 54% of capital imported in Q2 2024.

Nigeria received US$2.6 billion in capital imports in Q2 2024, by type of investment.

  • Portfolio investmentUS$1.4 billion53.9%
  • Other investmentUS$1.2 billion44.9%
  • Foreign direct investmentUS$30 million1.1%

By sector

BankingUS$1.1 billion43.2%
Production/​manufacturingUS$625 million24.0%
TradingUS$569 million21.9%
TelecommsUS$113 million4.4%
SharesUS$78 million3.0%
FinancingUS$40 million1.6%
All other sectorsUS$55 million2.1%

By country of origin

United KingdomUS$1.1 billion43.0%
NetherlandsUS$578 million22.2%
South AfricaUS$256 million9.8%
MauritiusUS$251 million9.6%
United Arab EmiratesUS$143 million5.5%
United StatesUS$82 million3.1%
Saudi ArabiaUS$55 million2.1%
Hong KongUS$15 million0.6%

2023

Other investment made up 61% of capital imported in 2023.

Nigeria received US$3.9 billion in capital imports in 2023, by type of investment.

  • Other investmentUS$2.4 billion60.8%
  • Portfolio investmentUS$1.2 billion29.5%
  • Foreign direct investmentUS$377 million9.7%

By sector

Production/​manufacturingUS$1.6 billion40.7%
BankingUS$833 million21.3%
FinancingUS$446 million11.4%
SharesUS$294 million7.5%
TradingUS$238 million6.1%
It servicesUS$226 million5.8%
All other sectorsUS$279 million7.1%

By country of origin

United KingdomUS$1.1 billion29.1%
SingaporeUS$471 million12.1%
United StatesUS$443 million11.3%
NetherlandsUS$391 million10.0%
South AfricaUS$378 million9.7%
MauritiusUS$331 million8.5%
United Arab EmiratesUS$328 million8.4%
NigeriaUS$168 million4.3%

Source: National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria, Nigeria Capital Importation Q2 2024, published 8 October 2024. Document: NBS e-library, workbook sheets Table 1 Cap Impt by Type, Table 2 Cap Import by Sector and Tab3 Import by countryoforigin. Method

What Nigeria sells and buys

Mineral fuels and oils was 86% of exports in 2025.

Nigeria sold the most to India, 10% of exports in 2025.

Exports by product, 2025

Tile area follows value. Each tile is a customs chapter of the Harmonized System; hover for the full name.

Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation: US$48.2 billion, 85.9%Mineral fuels and oils86%Cocoa and cocoa preparations: US$2.4 billion, 4.2%Cocoa and…4%Fertilizers: US$2.2 billion, 3.9%Fertilise…4%Ships, boats and floating structures: US$711 million, 1.3%Fruit and nuts, edible: US$534 million, 1.0%Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits: US$405 million, 0.7%Natural, cultured pearls: US$231 million, 0.4%Aluminium and articles thereof: US$226 million, 0.4%Salt: US$144 million, 0.3%Copper and articles thereof: US$110 million, 0.2%Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes: US$93 million, 0.2%Rubber and articles thereof: US$85 million, 0.2%All other chapters: US$823 million, 1.5%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

Top buyers, 2025

Share of Nigeria's exports.

IndiaUS$5.9 billion10.5%
SpainUS$4.9 billion8.7%
NetherlandsUS$4.9 billion8.7%
FranceUS$4.0 billion7.2%
United StatesUS$3.2 billion5.8%
CanadaUS$2.8 billion5.1%
IndonesiaUS$2.5 billion4.5%
ItalyUS$2.5 billion4.4%
Côte d'IvoireUS$1.9 billion3.4%
ChinaUS$1.8 billion3.3%

Top suppliers, 2025

Share of Nigeria's imports.

ChinaUS$13.0 billion29.4%
United StatesUS$5.6 billion12.6%
IndiaUS$4.3 billion9.8%
NetherlandsUS$2.2 billion5.0%
BelgiumUS$2.1 billion4.7%
United Arab EmiratesUS$1.9 billion4.2%
BrazilUS$1.4 billion3.2%
United KingdomUS$1.2 billion2.7%
SpainUS$1.0 billion2.3%
GermanyUS$830 million1.9%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

What Nigeria buys, 2025

The 8 largest product chapters in imports.

Mineral fuels and oilsUS$14.7 billion33.2%
Machinery and mechanical appliancesUS$5.1 billion11.5%
VehiclesUS$3.2 billion7.3%
Electrical machinery and equipmentUS$2.7 billion6.1%
PlasticsUS$2.2 billion4.9%
CerealsUS$1.4 billion3.2%
Chemical products n.e.c.US$1.3 billion2.9%
Iron or steel articlesUS$938 million2.1%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

Trade balance of goods

Exports minus imports. Red bars are years when imports were larger. A year is left out when either side is not published.

-30bn-20bn-10bn010bn20bn201520172019202120232025Trade balance 2015: US$14.6 billion (exports US$48.4 billion, imports US$33.8 billion)Trade balance 2016: -US$2.3 billion (exports US$32.9 billion, imports US$35.2 billion)Trade balance 2017: US$13.2 billion (exports US$44.5 billion, imports US$31.3 billion)Trade balance 2018: US$19.4 billion (exports US$62.4 billion, imports US$43.0 billion)Trade balance 2019: US$6.2 billion (exports US$53.6 billion, imports US$47.4 billion)Trade balance 2020: -US$20.6 billion (exports US$34.9 billion, imports US$55.5 billion)Trade balance 2021: -US$4.8 billion (exports US$47.2 billion, imports US$52.1 billion)Trade balance 2022: US$2.7 billion (exports US$63.4 billion, imports US$60.7 billion)Trade balance 2023: US$81 million (exports US$65.1 billion, imports US$65.0 billion)Trade balance 2024: US$11.4 billion (exports US$52.4 billion, imports US$41.0 billion)Trade balance 2025: US$11.7 billion (exports US$56.1 billion, imports US$44.4 billion)

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

Remittances against foreign direct investment in Nigeria

Remittances to Nigeria were 5.7 times foreign direct investment in 2025.

Foreign direct investment net inflows were negative in 2022: more investment left Nigeria than came in.

Remittances receivedForeign direct investment, net inflows
-10bn010bn20bn30bn201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: US$20.6 billionRemittances 2016: US$19.7 billionRemittances 2017: US$22.0 billionRemittances 2018: US$24.3 billionRemittances 2019: US$23.8 billionRemittances 2020: US$17.2 billionRemittances 2021: US$19.5 billionRemittances 2022: US$20.1 billionRemittances 2023: US$19.5 billionRemittances 2024: US$22.1 billionRemittances 2025: US$22.8 billionForeign direct investment 2015: US$3.1 billionForeign direct investment 2016: US$3.5 billionForeign direct investment 2017: US$2.4 billionForeign direct investment 2018: US$775 millionForeign direct investment 2019: US$2.3 billionForeign direct investment 2020: US$2.4 billionForeign direct investment 2021: US$3.3 billionForeign direct investment 2022: -US$187 millionForeign direct investment 2023: US$1.9 billionForeign direct investment 2024: US$1.6 billionForeign direct investment 2025: US$4.0 billion

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Remittances and investment as a share of GDP

The same two flows measured against the size of the economy.

Remittances, share of GDPForeign direct investment, share of GDP
-3%0%3%5%8%10%201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: 4.2%Remittances 2016: 4.9%Remittances 2017: 5.9%Remittances 2018: 5.8%Remittances 2019: 3.6%Remittances 2020: 2.9%Remittances 2021: 3.2%Remittances 2022: 3.1%Remittances 2023: 4.0%Remittances 2024: 8.8%Remittances 2025: 7.8%Foreign direct investment 2015: 0.6%Foreign direct investment 2016: 0.9%Foreign direct investment 2017: 0.6%Foreign direct investment 2018: 0.2%Foreign direct investment 2019: 0.3%Foreign direct investment 2020: 0.4%Foreign direct investment 2021: 0.5%Foreign direct investment 2022: -0.0%Foreign direct investment 2023: 0.4%Foreign direct investment 2024: 0.6%Foreign direct investment 2025: 1.4%

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Who Nigeria owes

External debt stock by type of creditor. Creditor types cover public and publicly guaranteed debt; the grey part is the rest of the total external debt stock. A creditor type with no published figure is not shown.

Multilateral creditors held 22% of Nigeria's external debt stock in 2024.

Public external debt owed to China was US$5.3 billion in 2024, 5% of the external debt stock.

MultilateralBilateralBondsCommercial banksRest of the totalPublic debt owed to China
050bn100bn150bn20152017201920212023Multilateral 2015: US$7.5 billionBilateral 2015: US$1.7 billionBonds 2015: US$1.5 billionRest of the total 2015: US$34.3 billionMultilateral 2016: US$7.9 billionBilateral 2016: US$1.9 billionBonds 2016: US$1.5 billionRest of the total 2016: US$32.4 billionMultilateral 2017: US$10.1 billionBilateral 2017: US$2.4 billionBonds 2017: US$6.3 billionRest of the total 2017: US$46.3 billionMultilateral 2018: US$11.0 billionBilateral 2018: US$3.1 billionBonds 2018: US$11.2 billionRest of the total 2018: US$44.2 billionMultilateral 2019: US$12.6 billionBilateral 2019: US$3.8 billionBonds 2019: US$11.2 billionRest of the total 2019: US$53.8 billionMultilateral 2020: US$14.3 billionBilateral 2020: US$4.2 billionBonds 2020: US$11.2 billionCommercial banks 2020: US$2.4 billionRest of the total 2020: US$55.5 billionMultilateral 2021: US$15.3 billionBilateral 2021: US$4.5 billionBonds 2021: US$14.7 billionCommercial banks 2021: US$1.8 billionRest of the total 2021: US$60.1 billionMultilateral 2022: US$17.0 billionBilateral 2022: US$5.1 billionBonds 2022: US$16.4 billionCommercial banks 2022: US$1.5 billionRest of the total 2022: US$63.1 billionMultilateral 2023: US$21.1 billionBilateral 2023: US$6.0 billionBonds 2023: US$15.9 billionCommercial banks 2023: US$1.0 billionRest of the total 2023: US$58.4 billionMultilateral 2024: US$23.8 billionBilateral 2024: US$6.1 billionBonds 2024: US$18.0 billionCommercial banks 2024: US$2.2 billionRest of the total 2024: US$58.6 billionPublic debt owed to China 2015: US$1.4 billionPublic debt owed to China 2016: US$1.6 billionPublic debt owed to China 2017: US$1.9 billionPublic debt owed to China 2018: US$2.5 billionPublic debt owed to China 2019: US$3.2 billionPublic debt owed to China 2020: US$3.4 billionPublic debt owed to China 2021: US$3.6 billionPublic debt owed to China 2022: US$4.3 billionPublic debt owed to China 2023: US$5.2 billionPublic debt owed to China 2024: US$5.3 billion

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Reserves and months of import cover

Total reserves including gold, and how many months of imports they cover.

Reserves, US$Months of imports
020bn40bn60bn02468201520172019202120232025Reserves 2015: US$29.0 billionReserves 2016: US$28.0 billionReserves 2017: US$40.5 billionReserves 2018: US$42.8 billionReserves 2019: US$39.4 billionReserves 2020: US$38.0 billionReserves 2021: US$41.7 billionReserves 2022: US$36.8 billionReserves 2023: US$33.5 billionReserves 2024: US$40.4 billionReserves 2025: US$46.0 billionMonths of imports 2015: 4.1 monthsMonths of imports 2016: 6.2 monthsMonths of imports 2017: 8.0 monthsMonths of imports 2018: 6.1 monthsMonths of imports 2019: 4.2 monthsMonths of imports 2020: 5.8 monthsMonths of imports 2021: 6.4 monthsMonths of imports 2022: 4.8 monthsMonths of imports 2023: 5.1 monthsMonths of imports 2024: 7.2 monthsMonths of imports 2025: 7.1 months

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Aid received by Nigeria

Net official development assistance and official aid received.

02.0bn4.0bn6.0bn20152017201920212023Aid received 2015: US$2.4 billionAid received 2016: US$2.5 billionAid received 2017: US$3.4 billionAid received 2018: US$3.3 billionAid received 2019: US$3.3 billionAid received 2020: US$3.4 billionAid received 2021: US$3.5 billionAid received 2022: US$4.4 billionAid received 2023: US$3.6 billion

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

More on Nigeria

World Bank data pages for Nigeria: GDP, GDP growth, GDP per person, remittances, foreign direct investment, reserves, months of imports, external debt, debt by creditor, aid. UN Comtrade: trade data. IMF: direct investment positions.