Economy of Nigeria

Economy of Nigeria
CurrencyNigerian naira (NGN, ₦)
1 April – 31 March
Trade organisations
AU, AfCFTA, ECOWAS, WTO
Country group
Statistics
Population 223,804,632 (2023)
GDP
  • $188.27 billion (nominal, Q1 2025)
  • $1.58 trillion (PPP, Q1 2025)
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • 2.2% (2019)
  • -3.0% (2020 est.)
  • 3.1% (2024 est.)
GDP per capita
  • $806 (nominal, Q1 2025)
  • $6,790 (PPP, Q1 2025)
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
33.20% (2024 est.)
Population below poverty line
38.9% (2023 est.)
35.1 medium (2020)
  • 0.548 low (2022) (161st)
25 out of 100 points (2023, 145th rank)
Labour force
  • 100,571,000 (Q1 2024)
Labour force by occupation
Unemployment 22.6% (Q1 2025 est)
Main industries
cement, oil refining, construction and construction materials, food processing and food products, beverages and tobacco, textiles, apparel and footwear, pharmaceutical products, wood products, pulp paper products, chemicals, ceramic products, plastic and rubber products, electrical and electronic products, base metals: iron and steel, information technology, automobile manufacturing, and other manufacturing (2015)
External
Exports $42.4 billion (2022)
Export goods
petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, vehicles, aircraft parts, vessels, vegetable products, processed food, beverages, spirits and vinegar, cashew nuts, processed leather, cocoa, tobacco, aluminum alloys
(2015)
Main export partners
Imports $52 billion (2022)
Import goods
industry supplies, machinery, appliances, vehicles, aircraft parts, chemicals, base metals
(2015)
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • $116.9 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
  • Abroad: $16.93 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$10.38 billion (2017 est.)
$85.9 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
Public finances
36.6% of GDP (2021 est.)
$38.77 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$5.2 billion; 1% of GDP (2014)
Revenues₦11.045 trillion
14.16% of GDP (2023)
Expenses₦21.827 trillion
27.99% of GDP (2023)

  • Fitch:
  • BB-
  • Outlook: Stable
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Nigeria is a middle-income, mixed economy and emerging market with expanding manufacturing, financial, service, communications, technology, and entertainment sectors. It is ranked as the 53rd-largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, the second largest in Africa in terms of purchasing power parity, and the 27th-largest in terms of purchasing power parity.

The country's re-emergent manufacturing sector became the largest on the continent in 2013, and it produces a large proportion of goods and services for the region of West Africa. Nigeria's debt-to-GDP ratio was 36.63% in 2021 according to the IMF.

Although oil revenues contributed 2/3 of state revenues, oil only contributes about 9% to the GDP. Nigeria produces about 2.7% of the world's oil supply. Although the petroleum sector is important, as Nigeria's government revenues still heavily rely on this sector, it remains a small part of the country's overall economy. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has not kept up with the country's rapid population growth. Nigeria was once a large net exporter of food, but currently imports some of its food products. Mechanization has led to a resurgence in the manufacturing and exporting of food products, and there was consequently a move towards food sufficiency. In 2006, Nigeria came to an agreement with the Paris Club to buy back the bulk of its owed debts from them, in exchange for a cash payment of roughly US$12 billion.

According to a report by Citigroup, published in February 2011, Nigeria had the highest average GDP growth in the world between 2010 and 2050. Nigeria is one of two countries from Africa among the 11 Global Growth Generators countries.