Nigeria’s economy faces fresh concerns as data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed a significant decline in the country’s capital importation in 2023.
Amid gruelling foreign exchange woes, the NBS said Nigeria only attracted a meagre $3.91 billion in foreign capital inflow last year — the lowest since 2007.
According to TheCable Index analysis, in the five years between 2007 and 2011, inflow ranged from $5.7 billion to $9.57 billion.
A significant jump occurred in 2012, with inflows reaching $16.62 billion. This was followed by two consecutive increases exceeding $20 billion between 2013 and 2014.
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Inflows dipped again from 2015 onwards, with a brief recovery in 2017. This culminated in a decline of $3.91 billion in 2023 — marking a 17-year low.
Notably, at $24 billion, 2019 saw the highest foreign investment in the past 17 years. However, this peak was not sustained, hinting at the uncertain nature of foreign investors.
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The NBS said portfolio investment (FPI) in 023 was 29.5 percent ($1.15 billion) of the $3.91 billion total capital importation. The highest FPI in the last 17 years was in 2019 at $16.4 billion, followed by $14.9 billion in 2014, and $11.8 billion in 2018.
On the other hand, foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at $377.4 million, and other investment was $2.38 billion last year.
According to the NBS report, 18 states that failed to attract foreign investment in three years (2021 – 2023) include:
- Bauchi
- Bayelsa
- Benue
- Borno
- Cross River
- Ebonyi
- Edo
- Enugu
- Gombe
- Imo
- Jigawa
- Kaduna
- Kebbi
- Nasarawa
- Sokoto
- Taraba
- Yobe
- Zamfara
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Eight out of the 18 states, recorded zero foreign investment in five years (2019-2023). They are:
- Bayelsa
- Ebonyi
- Gombe
- Jigawa
- Kebbi
- Taraba
- Yobe
- Zamfara
LAGOS CONTINUES TO ATTRACT CAPITAL AS OTHERS LAG
In 2023, Lagos took the lead, outshining others — including the federal capital territory (FCT) — to top the list of states that attracted the most foreign investments.
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Further analysis of the data shows that the country’s major commercial city raked in $2.50 billion, representing 64 percent of the total capital inflow into Nigeria.
The NBS report said the FCT emerged as the second top investment destination with $1.17 billion — 30 percent of the country’s total capital inflow.
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Other states that attracted foreign investments in 2023 are Abia ($150.09 million), Akwa Ibom ($39.13 million), Ogun ($27.09 million), and Rivers ($6 million).
Adamawa attracted $4.5 million, Anambra ($4 million), Niger ($1.50 million), Ondo ($200,000) and Ekiti $51,000.
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