Nigeria Balance of Trade

Last Release

Dec 31, 2021

Actual

Units In

NGN Millions

-150.6

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Jun 06, 2024

Time to Release

2 Months 27 Days 3 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
2,177,553.08 Oct 2011	-1,570,345.3 Aug 2021	163,168.88 NGN Millions	1981-2021	N/A

Exports of commodities (oil and natural gas) is the main factor behind Nigeria's growth and accounts for more than 91% of total exports. In 2014, Europe and Asia were the country's main trade partners. Europe accounted for 43% of total sales and 34% of total imports while Asia accounted for 29% of total shipments and 43% of total purchases.

Latest Updates

Nigeria posted a trade surplus of NGN 1,703 billion in December 2023, the highest since August 2014, up from NGN 1,117 billion in the same month of the previous year. Exports jumped 82.1% yoy to an all-time high of NGN 4,285 billion, mainly due to higher shipments of crude oil (+98.3%), other oil products (+74.7%), agricultural goods (+141.2%), raw materials (+25.8%), sold minerals (+52.4%) and energy (+47.8%). By contrast, sales of manufactured products plunged 59.5%. Meanwhile, imports surged by 108.9% to NGN 2,581 billion, largely due to purchases of manufactured products (+51.5%) and other oil products (+700%). Nigeria recorded a trade deficit of NGN 1415 billion in Q4 2023, as imports climbed 163.1% and exports rose at a slower 99.6%. In 2023, the country posted a trade surplus of NGN 44.8 billion, down from NGN 1206 billion in 2022, as imports (+40.4%) grew faster than exports (+34.2%).