Nigeria Jumps 4 Places

Nigeria has risen four places to eighth position in the 2026 Bloomberg Economics Investment Risk-O-Meter, overtaking Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Namibia. The country's improvement was driven by stronger performance in three of the five indicators used in the assessment: economic strength, fiscal strength, and external vulnerability.

Mauritius topped the ranking with a score of 0.6, followed by South Africa at 0.5. Egypt, Ghana, Botswana, and Côte d’Ivoire formed the next group at 0.3, while Morocco scored 0.2. Nigeria ranked eighth with 0.1, ahead of Rwanda and Tanzania, which both recorded 0.0.

The development puts Nigeria among the biggest gainers on the continent, despite ongoing concerns about the country's high public debt, cost of living, inflation, infrastructure deficit, and foreign exchange pressures. President Bola Tinubu's economic reforms, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and reforms to the foreign exchange market, have been credited with improving the country's relative attractiveness to investors.

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 during the period under review. Real Gross Domestic Product growth has been steady, and the country's economic reforms are expected to continue to drive growth in the coming years.

The ranking assessed 19 African countries using an investment risk-o-meter that measures five factors likely to influence financial returns: economic strength, fiscal strength, institutions and governance, infrastructure, and external vulnerability. The scores are then weighted to produce an overall risk rating, with a higher number indicating lower relative investment risk.

The countries assessed account for about one-third of Africa's economy, with the selection covering major economies as well as countries attractive to investors because of commodity wealth, financial hubs, and business-tourism potential.