Nigeria Rises Four Places to Eighth in Africa’s Investment Ranking

Nigeria has emerged as Africa’s biggest climber in the latest Bloomberg Economics Investment Risk-O-Meter, rising four places to rank eighth among 19 African economies assessed for relative investment risk.

The improvement places Nigeria ahead of Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia, marking one of the country’s strongest improvements in an international investment-risk ranking in recent years.

Bloomberg’s assessment attributed Nigeria’s improved position to stronger performance in economic strength, fiscal strength and external vulnerability, three of the five indicators used to assess investment risk across the continent.

Mauritius retained the top position, while several other major African economies recorded weaker relative positions.

South Africa, which previously occupied the top spot, dropped one place amid a weaker economic growth outlook. 

Nigeria’s rise comes more than three years after President Bola Tinubu introduced a series of major economic reforms designed to address long-standing distortions in the country’s economy.

Among the most significant reforms were the removal of the petrol subsidy and the restructuring of the foreign-exchange market.

The reforms initially produced severe economic pressures.

The removal of the petrol subsidy pushed transportation and energy costs higher, while the FX reforms resulted in a sharp adjustment in the value of the naira.

Inflation subsequently climbed significantly as the higher cost of imported goods and services filtered through the economy.

However, Bloomberg’s latest assessment suggests that investors are increasingly placing greater weight on the improvements in Nigeria’s underlying economic and fiscal structure.

Economic growth has also accelerated.

Nigeria’s economy expanded by 4.43% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, the fastest pace recorded in five years according to the data cited in the ranking report.

The improvement was supported by stronger performance across both the oil and non-oil sectors. 

Nigeria’s external position has also improved significantly.

Foreign-exchange reserves have climbed to around $55 billion, while the naira has shown greater stability compared with the sharp movements experienced during the earlier phase of the FX reforms.

Capital inflows have also strengthened.

Nigeria attracted $16.41 billion in capital during the first five months of 2026, representing a 101.8% increase compared with the same period of 2025. Foreign portfolio investment accounted for approximately $15.61 billion of that amount. 

The combination of stronger capital inflows, improved reserves and more stable FX conditions has helped change international perceptions of the Nigerian market.

However, the improved investment ranking does not mean the country’s economic challenges have disappeared.

Nigeria continues to contend with high living costs, elevated interest rates, infrastructure deficits, insecurity and a large public-debt burden.

The country’s total public debt reached N166.79 trillion as of June 2026, according to Debt Management Office figures previously released for the second quarter.

Bloomberg’s improved fiscal-strength assessment therefore appears to reflect the direction of fiscal reforms and revenue mobilisation rather than an absence of debt-related challenges.

The investment ranking is nevertheless significant because international investors frequently use such assessments when comparing emerging and frontier markets.

A stronger ranking can potentially improve Nigeria’s attractiveness relative to competing African markets, particularly when combined with improved FX liquidity and higher investment returns.

The next challenge will be ensuring that the improved perception translates into long-term productive investment, rather than being concentrated overwhelmingly in short-term portfolio flows.