Suara Sherif
Nigeria has emerged as Africa’s biggest climber in the latest investment risk ranking, rising four places to eighth position and overtaking Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia in the 2026 Bloomberg Economics Investment Risk-O-Meter.
The ranking, which assesses the relative investability of 19 African economies, placed Nigeria among the continent’s biggest gainers, driven by stronger performance in three of the five indicators used in the assessment: economic strength, fiscal strength and external vulnerability.
“Nigeria was the biggest climber in a ranking of Africa’s most investable markets, propelled by President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms,” Bloomberg reported in its latest edition of An Investor’s Guide to Africa.
“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.”
The development puts Nigeria ahead of several of its regional peers, although the country continues to grapple with high public debt, cost of living pressures, inflation, infrastructure deficits and foreign exchange challenges.
Mauritius emerged as the most investable African market in the latest ranking, while Botswana fell two places.
South Africa, which topped the ranking in the previous edition, also dropped one place following a weaker economic growth outlook.
Nigeria’s improved position comes more than three years after Tinubu assumed office and embarked on a series of major economic reforms aimed at restructuring the country’s fiscal and monetary environment.
Among the most significant measures were the removal of the petrol subsidy, reforms to the foreign exchange market and changes to electricity tariffs.
The Federal Government has repeatedly defended the reforms as necessary to address distortions that had weighed on public finances, discouraged investment and placed pressure on foreign exchange reserves.
However, the policies have also increased economic hardship for households and businesses, particularly through higher transport, food and energy costs.
Despite the adjustment pains, Nigeria’s economy has continued to expand. Real Gross Domestic Product growth rose from 2.54 percent in the third quarter of 2023 to 3.46 percent in the fourth quarter of that year.
The economy subsequently grew by an average of 3.19 percent in 2024 before accelerating to 3.85 percent in 2025, its strongest annual performance within the period covered by the assessment.
Growth stood at 3.89 percent in the first quarter of 2026.
The stronger growth performance has come alongside efforts by the government to increase revenue, reduce fiscal leakages and attract investment into critical sectors of the economy.
However, Nigeria’s improved position in the Bloomberg ranking comes against the backdrop of a substantial increase in public debt.
Data from the Debt Management Office showed that Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N87.38tn as of June 30, 2023, shortly after Tinubu took office.
By December 31, 2025, the figure had risen to N159.28tn, an increase of N71.90tn, or about 82.3 percent, in two and a half years.
The increase was driven by new borrowing, foreign exchange adjustments and the securitisation of certain legacy obligations, according to the DMO.
For Nigeria, the Bloomberg ranking offers a rare piece of positive news on the investment front.
After years of struggling to attract sufficient foreign capital due to exchange-rate instability, policy uncertainty and security concerns, the country’s relative position among African investment destinations has improved.
But with debt rising and households still feeling the pinch of reform, the challenge will be sustaining the momentum.
