Lagos, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- NIGERIA ranked as Africa’s best-performing economy on the economic performance pillar of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking 2026, despite slipping further in overall global competitiveness.
The IMD assessed 70 economies across four pillars—economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.
Nigeria placed 55th globally on economic performance with a score of 45.2, outperforming the five other African countries included in the ranking. However, the country fell one place in the overall competitiveness index to 68th out of 70 economies, reflecting persistent weaknesses in infrastructure, governance and the business environment.
Among African economies, South Africa ranked second on the economic performance pillar with 36.27 points (64th globally), followed by Ghana with 34.6 points (65th), Kenya with 33.19 points (66th), Namibia with 22.3 points (68th) and Botswana with 18.25 points (69th).
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The report showed a gap of nearly 27 points between Nigeria, the continent’s highest performer, and Botswana, the lowest-ranked African economy in the assessment.
The economic performance pillar measures domestic economic activity, international trade and investment, employment, and price developments, indicating Nigeria outperformed its regional peers on key macroeconomic indicators.
However, stronger economic performance did not translate into improved overall competitiveness.
Nigeria’s overall score fell to 38.8, with declines recorded in government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.
Government efficiency dropped to 53rd from 50th in 2025, while business efficiency slipped to 63rd from 59th. Infrastructure remained the country’s weakest pillar, with Nigeria ranking 70th globally, down from 68th a year earlier.
Within the economic performance category, Nigeria ranked 51st in domestic economy, 64th in international trade, 64th in international investment, 61st in prices and 64th in employment.
The report also highlighted contrasting performances across institutional indicators.
Nigeria ranked 16th globally in public finance and 15th in tax policy but fell to 69th in both institutional framework and societal framework. Under business efficiency, the country ranked 22nd in labour market performance but placed 70th in finance, underscoring continued challenges in access to affordable capital.
According to the IMD, Nigerian business executives identified high borrowing costs, exchange-rate volatility and inflation as the country’s most significant competitiveness constraints.
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About 67.6 per cent of respondents cited borrowing costs as their biggest concern, followed by exchange-rate volatility at 67.3 per cent and inflation at 61.2 per cent.
Other challenges identified included global economic uncertainty (48 per cent), supply-chain disruptions (33 per cent), labour constraints (32 per cent), insecurity, unreliable electricity supply and transport bottlenecks.
The findings suggest that while Nigeria has strengthened its economic performance relative to regional peers, structural weaknesses continue to undermine its global competitiveness. Analysts say sustained reforms to improve infrastructure, strengthen institutions, deepen access to finance and lower the cost of doing business will be critical to translating macroeconomic gains into broader economic competitiveness.
The latest ranking comes as Nigeria’s economy expanded by 4.07 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2025, while S&P Global Ratings recently upgraded the country’s long-term foreign and local currency credit ratings to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘, citing improvements in foreign exchange liquidity, fiscal revenues, external reserves and ongoing economic reforms. The agency had earlier affirmed Nigeria’s sovereign rating at B- with a positive outlook, reflecting confidence in the government’s reform agenda.
