The World Bank has upgraded Nigeria’s 2026 economic growth forecast to 4.3 per cent, citing improving macroeconomic stability, stronger investor confidence and a gradual recovery in private investment.
The World Bank has raised its forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth in 2026 to 4.3 per cent, from 4.0 per cent in 2025, as the lender expects ongoing reforms and improving macroeconomic conditions to support stronger economic activity.
The projection was contained in the World Bank’s October 2026 Africa Economic Update, with the lender also forecasting that Nigeria’s economy will expand by 4.4 per cent annually in 2027 and 2028.
The revised outlook places Nigeria among several African economies, including Zambia, Ethiopia and Angola, where the World Bank upgraded its growth projections.
“Economic activity in Nigeria is projected to strengthen from 4.0 percent in 2025 to 4.3 percent in 2026, before edging up to 4.4 percent annually in 2027–28, supported by improving macroeconomic stability, strengthening investor confidence, and a gradual recovery in private investment,” the World Bank said.
The lender attributed the broader improvement in its outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa to the resilience of regional economies, noting that growth forecasts had been upgraded for nearly three-quarters of countries in the region.
The World Bank also raised its 2026 growth forecast for Africa to 4.3 per cent, from 4.1 per cent in its April projection.
The improved outlook comes despite a challenging global environment, including higher energy prices and supply-chain pressures linked to the Iran war.
Nigeria’s revised growth forecast also comes against the backdrop of stronger recent domestic economic performance.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria’s real gross domestic product grew by 4.43 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 4.23 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025.
The Q2 performance provides a recent indication of the stronger economic activity underpinning the World Bank’s upgraded forecast.
Beyond growth, the World Bank urged African governments to leverage artificial intelligence to improve productivity and create jobs as economies seek to sustain expansion amid global economic pressures.
Nigeria’s upgraded forecast suggests that the World Bank expects recent reforms and improvements in economic management to increasingly support investment and economic activity over the medium term.
The World Bank’s projection follows Nigeria’s 4.07 per cent year-on-year real GDP growth in Q4 2025, according to previously released NBS data.
Separately, S&P Global Ratings upgraded Nigeria’s long-term foreign and local currency credit ratings to ‘B’ from ‘B-’, signalling improved assessment of the country’s credit outlook.