Nigeria’s export mix stayed oil-heavy in 2025, with crude oil above 75% in all quarters

  • Crude oil dominated Nigeria’s exports in all quarters of 2025
  • Q1 recorded the highest oil dependency at 81.5%.
  • Non-oil exports peaked in Q2 at 24.2%, representing the strongest diversification point in 2025.
  • The oil share dropped to its lowest in Q2 (75.8%), but still remained dominant.

Nigeria’s export structure in 2025 remains heavily concentrated on crude oil

Nigeria’s export structure in 2025 remains heavily concentrated on crude oil, reinforcing a long-standing pattern in the country’s external trade profile. Across all four quarters, crude oil consistently accounted for over 75% of total exports, peaking at 81.5% in Q1 and remaining dominant through the rest of the year. While there were slight fluctuations quarter-to-quarter, the overall composition shows minimal change—highlighting how deeply embedded oil remains in Nigeria’s export economy.

Source:

National Bureau of Statistics

Period:

2025
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South Africa, Egypt and Morocco accounted for nearly 40% ($313b) of Africa’s merchandise imports in 2025
  • Africa imported merchandise worth $788.9 billion in 2025, representing about 3% of global merchandise imports.
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  • Europe’s intra-continental export share was nearly four times Africa’s.
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  • South Africa led with $116.4 billion, followed by Nigeria and Egypt.
  • The top 15 economies generated 79.3% of Africa’s exports.

Nigeria's trade surplus hit a record ₦21.0tn in 2025 and remained strong in Q1 2026
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  • The trade surplus remained strong at ₦7.55 trillion in Q1 2026.
  • The latest performance marks a sharp recovery from the deficits recorded in 2020 and 2021.
  • Nigeria’s trade balance moved from near zero in 2023 to large surpluses in 2024 and 2025.

Nigeria's non-oil exports grew faster than oil exports in 2024 and 2025, though oil remained dominant
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  • In 2024, non-oil exports grew by 189% vs oil’s 108%.
  • Total exports still heavily depend on oil.
  • Export value rose from ₦36 trillion in 2023 to ₦85.1 trillion in 2025.

Nigeria imported 10x more from Asia than from Africa in 2025
  • Asia is Nigeria’s top import source in 2025.
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