Nigeria recorded a sharp increase in foreign investment in 2025, with Nigeria FDI inflows rising by 148 per cent despite a broad decline in investment across Africa. The figure was contained in the UN Trade and Development, UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2026.
According to the report, Nigeria’s FDI inflows increased from $1.61 billion in 2024 to $4.01 billion in 2025. The increase placed Nigeria among Africa’s strongest-performing investment destinations during the year. Nigeria ranked ahead of countries including Ethiopia, Morocco, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. However, it remained behind Egypt, Guinea and Mozambique in terms of total inflows.
The performance contrasted sharply with the continental trend. UNCTAD reported that FDI flows into Africa fell by 26 per cent, from $94 billion in 2024 to $70 billion in 2025. Globally, however, foreign direct investment recovered by six per cent to $1.624 trillion in 2025.
This followed two consecutive years of decline, with developed economies accounting for much of the recovery. Developed economies attracted $723 billion during the year, while Europe recorded a 39 per cent increase to $285 billion. Developing Asia remained the largest destination among emerging markets, attracting $644 billion.
Despite the impressive increase in Nigeria FDI inflows, analysts noted that the growth was largely driven by major transactions in the oil, gas and energy sectors.
Among the major deals were Renaissance Africa Energy’s acquisition of Shell’s onshore assets and Huaxin Cement’s purchase of Lafarge Africa. While the transactions significantly increased Nigeria’s investment figures, they also highlighted the country’s continued reliance on hydrocarbons for attracting foreign capital. Nigeria accounted for approximately 5.8 per cent of Africa’s total FDI in 2025.
However, the country attracted only about 0.25 per cent of global investment flows, highlighting the gap between its economic potential and actual investment performance. Brazil alone attracted about $77 billion in FDI, exceeding the total investment received by the entire African continent. India also attracted $39 billion, nearly ten times Nigeria’s 2025 inflows.
UNCTAD attributed part of Africa’s decline to the exceptionally large Ras El-Hekma investment deal recorded by Egypt in 2024. That transaction significantly increased the continent’s previous-year figures, making the 2025 decline appear sharper. Despite the fall, Africa’s $70 billion inflow remained its third-highest on record and was about one-third above its average between 2010 and 2024.
For Nigeria, however, experts say the priority should now shift from simply increasing investment volumes to attracting capital capable of generating wider economic benefits. They argue that Nigeria needs more greenfield investments in manufacturing, technology, export-oriented industries and domestic supply chains.
Recent reforms in foreign exchange, fiscal policy and the petroleum sector have reportedly improved investor confidence. However, persistent challenges remain. These include unreliable electricity, inadequate infrastructure, insecurity, logistics constraints, high financing costs and regulatory uncertainty.
Addressing these structural issues, analysts said, would be critical to sustaining Nigeria FDI inflows and attracting more long-term productive capital. They added that converting the latest investment rebound into sustained economic development would require Nigeria to move beyond large-scale transactions and build an environment capable of attracting diverse, productive foreign investment.
