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, a new report by Bloomberg has stated.

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, in the report released on Monday, 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.

“Nigeria was the biggest climber in a ranking of Africa’s most investable markets, propelled by President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, according to the findings of the latest edition of An Investor’s Guide to Africa.

“The continent’s biggest oil producer and refiner rose four places to eighth in the 2026 Bloomberg Economics Investment Risk-O-Meter, overtaking Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia as it improved in three of the five metrics assessed by the gauge: economic strength, fiscal strength and external vulnerability,” Bloomberg reported.

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.

Mauritius emerged as the most investable African market in the latest ranking, while Botswana fell two places. South Africa, which topped the ranking in the previous edition, also dropped one place following a weaker economic growth outlook.

Nigeria’s improved position comes more than three years after Tinubu assumed office and embarked on 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 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 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 N87.38tn as of June 30, 2023, shortly after Tinubu took office. By December 31, 2025, the figure had risen to N159.28tn. This represents an increase of N71.90tn, or about 82.3 per cent, in two and a half years.

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 therefore marks an improvement in its relative position among African investment destinations, even as investors continue to monitor the sustainability of its reforms, debt burden and economic growth.