After its peak ($8.9b) in 2011, Nigeria's FDI declined almost every year to its lowest ($780m) in 2018, a 91% decline

Key Takeaways

  • FDI inflows peaked in 2011 at $8.91 billion, the highest in the 35-year period.
  • Between 2005 and 2012, Nigeria saw a sustained boom in FDI, with seven consecutive years above $4 billion.
  • In 2018, Nigeria recorded its lowest FDI inflow in decades at just $0.78 billion.
  • By 2024, FDI stood at $1.08 billion, down 88% from its 2011 peak, reflecting declining investor interest or changing investment climates.

Nigeria’s Foreign Direct Investment trajectory from 1990 to 2024 paints a vivid picture of economic highs and lows. In the 1990s and early 2000s, FDI hovered around $1–2 billion. It surged in the mid-2000s, climbing rapidly to reach $8.91 billion in 2011, the country’s strongest year in attracting foreign capital. This era coincided with oil sector liberalisation and Nigeria’s re-emergence as a key frontier market.

However, post-2011, inflows began a steady decline. By 2018, FDI had dropped below $1 billion, the lowest point in decades. Although modest recoveries were seen in later years, 2024 closed at $1.08 billion, far from the highs of the previous decade.

Source:

UNCTAD

Period:

1990 - 2024
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