Trade in services (% of GDP) in Nigeria
Nigeria: Trade in services (% of GDP) was 8.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Trade in services in Nigeria, 1977–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, trade in services in Nigeria stood at 8.5%.
The figure is down 4.8% on the previous year and up 83.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, trade in services in Nigeria peaked at 11.4% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 1998.
Nigeria ranks 173rd of 200 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Trade in services (% of GDP) in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 11.4% | — |
| 1978 | 10.5% | -7.8% |
| 1979 | 9.4% | -10.3% |
| 1980 | 10.0% | +5.8% |
| 1981 | 3.6% | -63.8% |
| 1982 | 2.8% | -23.5% |
| 1983 | 2.9% | +3.6% |
| 1984 | 3.0% | +5.9% |
| 1985 | 2.7% | -12.0% |
| 1986 | 2.5% | -7.4% |
| 1987 | 2.1% | -15.9% |
| 1988 | 2.4% | +13.1% |
| 1989 | 4.4% | +86.1% |
| 1990 | 5.4% | +24.3% |
| 1991 | 5.6% | +2.9% |
| 1992 | 5.5% | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 6.9% | +24.7% |
| 1994 | 4.2% | -38.7% |
| 1995 | 1.2% | -72.5% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | -18.7% |
| 1997 | 0.8% | -11.0% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | -21.1% |
| 1999 | 7.5% | +1043.5% |
| 2000 | 7.4% | -1.5% |
| 2001 | 8.6% | +15.3% |
| 2002 | 7.8% | -8.4% |
| 2003 | 8.8% | +12.0% |
| 2004 | 6.9% | -21.8% |
| 2005 | 4.8% | -30.1% |
| 2006 | 6.8% | +42.0% |
| 2007 | 7.1% | +4.5% |
| 2008 | 7.8% | +10.3% |
| 2009 | 7.1% | -9.6% |
| 2010 | 6.7% | -6.2% |
| 2011 | 6.7% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 5.7% | -15.8% |
| 2013 | 4.7% | -18.0% |
| 2014 | 4.7% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 4.6% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 3.8% | -17.1% |
| 2017 | 6.2% | +61.8% |
| 2018 | 8.5% | +36.5% |
| 2019 | 6.5% | -22.8% |
| 2020 | 4.0% | -39.1% |
| 2021 | 3.3% | -17.3% |
| 2022 | 3.7% | +11.2% |
| 2023 | 4.5% | +24.0% |
| 2024 | 8.9% | +96.5% |
| 2025 | 8.5% | -4.8% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 8.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 13.8%, 62% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 8.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 12.7%, 67% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Trade in services (% of GDP) in Nigeria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +1043.5% | 0.7% | 7.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 10.5% | 9.4% | 11.4% | 3 |
| 1980s | 3.6% | 2.1% | 10.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.9% | 0.7% | 7.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.3% | 4.8% | 8.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.8% | 3.8% | 8.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.5% | 3.3% | 8.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More economy & growth data for Nigeria
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.04 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 3.32 Percent per annum (2029)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 3.99 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0148 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 18.13 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate -0.9704 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0108 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 13.24 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate -17.26 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0107 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is trade in services in Nigeria?
- Trade in services in Nigeria was 8.5% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest trade in services recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 11.4% in 1977.
- What is the lowest trade in services recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 1998.
- How does Nigeria rank for trade in services?
- Nigeria ranks 173rd out of 200 countries with data for 2025.
- Is trade in services rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 83.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Trade in services (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Total trade in services includes services provided by residents to non-residents plus services provided by non-residents to residents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.