Abuja attracted the highest foreign capital inflows in Q1 2025, outpacing Lagos, as Nigeria saw a 67% jump in capital importation.
The banking and financing sectors led Nigeria’s Q1 capital inflows, with UK investors accounting for over 65% of the total.
Abuja has overtaken Lagos as Nigeria’s top destination for foreign capital inflows, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Q1 2025 report. The country recorded a total capital importation of $5.64 billion, up 67.12% from $3.37 billion in Q1 2024 and 10.86% higher than Q4 2024.
Portfolio investment led the inflows with $5.20 billion (92.25%), followed by other investments at $311.17 million (5.52%) and foreign direct investment at $126.29 million (2.24%).
The banking sector received the most capital with $3.12 billion (55.44%), ahead of financing ($2.09 billion) and manufacturing ($129.92 million).
“The United Kingdom accounted for $3.68 billion or 65.26% of total capital,” NBS noted, followed by South Africa and Mauritius.
Abuja (FCT) led state inflows with $3.04 billion (54.11%), followed by Lagos ($2.56 billion) and Ogun ($7.95 million). Standard Chartered Bank received the highest capital at $2.10 billion, ahead of Stanbic IBTC and Citibank Nigeria.