Nigeria has emerged as the biggest climber in Africa’s latest investment risk ranking, rising four places to eighth position as economic reforms implemented by President Bola Tinubu improved the country’s relative attractiveness to investors, according to Bloomberg.
Nigeria overtook Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia in the 2026 Bloomberg Economics Investment Risk-O-Meter, which assesses the relative investability of 19 African economies.
Bloomberg said Nigeria’s improvement was driven by stronger performance in three of the five indicators used in the assessment: economic strength, fiscal strength and external vulnerability.
The latest ranking puts Nigeria among the continent’s biggest gainers, despite continuing concerns over public debt, inflation, the cost of living, infrastructure deficits and foreign exchange pressures.
Mauritius emerged as the most investable African market in the latest ranking, while Botswana fell two places. South Africa, which topped the previous ranking, also dropped one place following a weaker economic growth outlook.
Nigeria’s improved position comes more than three years after Tinubu assumed office and introduced 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 economic distortions, strengthen public finances, improve foreign exchange management and attract investment into critical sectors.
However, the policies have also increased economic pressure on households and businesses, particularly through higher transport, food and energy costs.
Despite the adjustment pressures, Nigeria’s economy has continued to expand during the period under review. 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.
The economy subsequently grew by an average of 3.19 per cent in 2024 before accelerating to 3.85 per cent in 2025, its strongest annual performance within the period covered by the assessment.
Growth stood at 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, bringing the average quarterly growth between the third quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2026 to about 3.46 per cent.
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.
Nigeria’s improved position in the Bloomberg ranking, however, 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 N87.38 trillion as of June 30, 2023, shortly after Tinubu took office. By December 31, 2025, the figure had risen to N159.28 trillion.
The increase was driven by new borrowing, foreign exchange adjustments and the securitisation of certain legacy obligations, according to the DMO.
The development is significant for a country that has struggled for years to attract sufficient foreign capital because of concerns over exchange-rate instability, policy uncertainty, weak infrastructure, insecurity and limited fiscal space.
The reforms under the Tinubu administration have sought to address some of these constraints by allowing market forces a greater role in determining fuel prices, foreign exchange rates and electricity tariffs.
The foreign exchange reforms, in particular, were designed to reduce multiple exchange rates and improve transparency in the currency market, while the removal of the petrol subsidy was intended to reduce the government’s fiscal burden.
The electricity tariff reforms were also aimed at improving the financial viability of the power sector and encouraging investment by allowing electricity prices for some customer categories to better reflect supply costs.
Nigeria’s rise in the Bloomberg ranking marks an improvement in its relative position among African investment destinations, even as investors continue to monitor the sustainability of the reforms, the country’s debt burden and its economic growth outlook.