Economy - Intelpoint

Lagos, Rivers and the FCT collected 63.5% of state-level PAYE in 2025.
Lagos collected ₦993.3 billion in PAYE, more than the next five jurisdictions combined.
The top 10 jurisdictions accounted for 81.5% of ₦2.636 trillion in total PAYE.
The bottom five jurisdictions collected ₦47.0 billion combined, less than 2% of the total.
Delta collected ₦139.7 billion, less than half of the FCT’s ₦320.1 billion.

Enugu led the country in IGR growth in 2024 with a 433% increase.
Bayelsa, Jigawa, Kano, and Osun also experienced large year-on-year increases, indicating widening fiscal activity across regions.
Lagos, Rivers, and the FCT recorded slower growth rates but still generated the largest total revenues.
The fastest growth often came from states focused on reforming tax systems or broadening local revenue sources, rather than from being traditionally big or wealthy states alone.

Lagos drives most revenue in the South West, accounting for the clear majority of the region’s IGR.
Each geopolitical zone has one dominant state that shapes its revenue profile.
Fiscal capacity remains heavily skewed toward a few urban and resource-rich states.

Nigeria’s total IGR in 2024 was ₦3.7 trillion.
Lagos State generated ₦1.3 trillion, accounting for over 35% of the national IGR.
Rivers State (₦317.3 billion) and the FCT, Abuja (₦282.4 billion) ranked second and third, respectively.
The South West led regionally with ₦1.7 trillion in total IGR.
The North East recorded the lowest regional IGR at ₦129.8 billion.
Economic disparity between regions remains wide, with Lagos alone outpacing entire regions.

The South East is the only region where the revenue of MDAs (60.9%) exceeded tax revenue (39.1%).
Other regions relied more heavily on tax revenue, with the South South leading at 85.25%.
The North East and North Central followed closely, with tax contributions of 79.9% and 79.15%, respectively.
The South West generated 75.04% of its IGR from taxes, indicating a strong formal revenue structure.
The North West maintained a more balanced mix, with 58.54% tax and 41.46% MDAs’ revenue.

Osun’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) grew from ₦11.78b in 2015 to ₦54.70b in 2024, marking a 364% increase.
The state maintained steady annual growth after 2017, with notable acceleration from 2020 onward.
The single biggest leap occurred between 2023 and 2024, with revenue nearly doubling from ₦27.72b to ₦54.70b.
The upward trend reflects improved tax collection, diversification of revenue sources, and stronger fiscal policies.

Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) accounted for 61% of Lagos State’s Q1 2025 receipts.
VAT was the second-largest funding source, contributing 22%.
Loans made up 8% of total inflows for the quarter.
Opening balance accounted for 4%, indicating a moderate carryover from the previous year.

Anambra’s IGR grew sevenfold in 16 years, reaching ₦42 billion in 2024.
A ₦26B to ₦42B jump in just six years (2018–2024) indicates accelerating growth.
The most dramatic jumps occurred post-2018, pointing to possibly new fiscal reforms or policies.
Between 2014 and 2024, revenue grew by over 300%, from ₦10B to ₦42B.

Key Takeaways:

Nigeria's total revenue decreased from 17.73% of GDP in 2011 to 9.09% in 2022.
The lowest point for the country’s revenue occurred in 2016, at only 5.12% of GDP.
Although there has been some recovery since 2016, revenue still falls well below the levels seen before 2015.
The sharpest decline took place between 2011 and 2016, with revenue dropping by over 12 percentage points.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant drop to 6.52%, followed by a period of recovery.

Key takeaways:

Libya's total revenue (85.78% of GDP) significantly surpassed all other African states.
Lesotho is noteworthy with the second-highest total revenue ratio at 48.12%.
Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tomé & Príncipe in Western Africa recorded total revenue of 30.79% and 25.38% respectively.
South Africa generated 27.74% of its GDP in revenue.
The top ten countries reported total revenue exceeding 28%.

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