Faisal Salisu DambattaNigeria attracted a total of US$11.13 billion in capital inflows in the second and third quarters (Q2 and Q3) of 2025, reflecting strong inflows of foreign funds into the economy, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Contained in the Nigeria Capital Importation reports, the figure combines US$5.12 billion recorded in Q2 and US$6.01 billion in Q3, 2025, showing a marked improvement from the same period in 2024.
The Bureau said the surge was largely driven by portfolio investments, which accounted for more than 80 percent of total inflows across both quarters. The banking and financing sectors remained the primary recipients of foreign funds, while capital originated mostly from the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa.
The National Bureau of Statistics report highlighted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as the smallest component of capital inflows, suggesting continued reliance on portfolio and other forms of investment for foreign funding.
Q2 2025 Capital Importation
In Q2 2025, total capital importation into Nigeria stood at $5,120.50 million, up from $2,604.50 million in Q2 2024, an increase of 96.60 percent year-on-year (YoY). Quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), capital importation decreased by 9.24 percent from $5,642.07 million in Q1 2025.
“Portfolio Investment ranked top with US$4,200.03 million, accounting for 82.02 percent, followed by Other Investment with $777.80 million, accounting for 15.19 percent. Foreign Direct Investment recorded the least with $142.67 million (2.79 percent) of total capital importation in Q2 2025,” the NBS said.
“The Banking sector recorded the highest inflow with US$3,407.97 million, representing 66.56% of total capital imported in Q2 2025, followed by the Financing sector, valued at US$873.32 million (17.06%), and Electrical sector with US$456.37 million (8.91%),” the Bureau further stated, disclosing that capital largely originated from key global economies supporting Nigeria’s financial markets.
“Capital Importation during the reference period originated largely from the United Kingdom with US$1,860.03 million, representing 36.33 percent of the total capital imported. This was followed by the Republic of South Africa with US$1,013.71 million (19.80 percent) and the United States with US$909.84 million (17.77 percent),” the NBS added.
Q3 2025 Capital Importation
Total capital importation in Q3 2025 increased YoY to $6,014.77 million, up from $1,252.66 million in Q3 2024 and a 17.46 percent rise from Q2 2025. Portfolio investment continued to dominate, with banks and the financing sector receiving the largest inflows.
“Portfolio Investment ranked top with US$4,853.96 million, accounting for 80.70 percent, followed by Other Investment with US$864.57 million, accounting for 14.37 percent. Foreign Direct Investment recorded the least with US$296.25 million (4.93 percent) of total capital importation in Q3 2025,” the statistics agency stated.
“Capital Importation during the reference period originated largely from the United Kingdom with US$2,935.41 million, representing 48.80 per cent of the total capital imported. This was followed by the United States with US$950.47 million (15.80 percent) and the Republic of South Africa with US$773.95 million (12.87 percent),” the report added.
