Nigeria Climbs Four Places to 8th in Bloomberg Africa Investment Ranking

Nigeria has emerged as the biggest climber in Africa's latest investment risk ranking, rising four places to eighth position in the 2026 Bloomberg Economics Investment Risk-O-Meter. The gauge assesses the relative investability of 19 African economies.

Bloomberg, in the report released on Monday, said Nigeria overtook Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia, driven by stronger performance in three of the five indicators used: economic strength, fiscal strength and external vulnerability.

What Bloomberg said

"Nigeria was the biggest climber in a ranking of Africa's most investable markets, propelled by President Bola Tinubu's economic reforms, according to the findings of the latest edition of An Investor's Guide to Africa," Bloomberg reported.

"The continent's biggest oil producer and refiner rose four places to eighth in the 2026 Bloomberg Economics Investment Risk-O-Meter, overtaking Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia as it improved in three of the five metrics assessed by the gauge: economic strength, fiscal strength and external vulnerability."

Mauritius emerged as the most investable African market. Botswana fell two places, while South Africa, which topped the previous edition, dropped one place on a weaker economic growth outlook.

Growth against rising debt

Nigeria's improved position comes more than three years after Tinubu took office and began reforms that included the removal of the petrol subsidy, changes to the foreign exchange market and adjustments to electricity tariffs. The government has repeatedly defended the measures as necessary to fix distortions that weighed on public finances, discouraged investment and pressured foreign exchange reserves.

The policies have also raised costs for households and businesses, particularly transport, food and energy.

Even so, the economy kept expanding. Real Gross Domestic Product growth rose from 2.54 per cent in the third quarter of 2023 to 3.46 per cent in the fourth quarter of that year. Growth averaged 3.19 per cent in 2024 before accelerating to 3.85 per cent in 2025, the strongest annual performance within the period covered by the assessment. It stood at 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, bringing average quarterly growth between the third quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2026 to about 3.46 per cent.

Debt, however, climbed sharply. Debt Management Office data showed total public debt at N87.38tn as of June 30, 2023, shortly after Tinubu took office. By December 31, 2025, it had reached N159.28tn, an increase of N71.90tn, or about 82.3 per cent, in two and a half years. The DMO attributed the rise to new borrowing, foreign exchange adjustments and the securitisation of legacy obligations.

What it means for investors

The ranking matters for a country that has long struggled to attract foreign capital because of exchange-rate instability, policy uncertainty, weak infrastructure, insecurity and limited fiscal space. The FX reforms were designed to cut multiple exchange rates and improve transparency, the subsidy removal to ease the fiscal burden, and the tariff changes to make the power sector more viable.

Nigeria's relative position among African investment destinations has improved. Investors will keep watching whether the reforms, the debt load and the growth run hold.