The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed a significant increase in foreign investments in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, reaching $1.5 billion in 2023. This marks a notable rise from $948 million recorded in the previous year, according to data from the NBS’s capital importation report.
Manufacturing emerged as the top sector attracting foreign investments, surpassing the banking and finance sectors, which followed at a distance as the second and third top investment sectors, respectively.
In 2023, investments in manufacturing accounted for 39 percent of the total capital importation, amounting to $3.8 billion. However, overall foreign investments in Nigeria experienced a decline, contracting by $1.5 billion from $5.4 billion in 2022.
Of the total capital importation, other investments constituted $2.37 billion, portfolio investment stood at $1.1 billion, and foreign direct investment contributed $377.3 million.
Lagos State retained its position as the top investment destination in 2023, attracting $2.5 billion, followed by Abuja with $1.1 billion. Abia and Rivers States recorded $150 million and $6 million, respectively, among other states that received investments.
However, the NBS data also revealed that 29 states failed to attract any investments during the period under review.
Over recent years, foreign investments in Nigeria have experienced a consistent decline. The NBS reported a decline of $18.6 billion in foreign investment inflow over four years (2019-2022). During this period, eight states, including Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Gombe, Jigawa, and Kebbi, failed to attract any form of foreign investment.
In 2019, Nigeria attracted $23.9 billion in foreign investments, which declined to $9.6 billion in 2020, further dropping to $6.7 billion in 2021, and decreasing to $5.3 billion in 2022, resulting in a total decline of $18.6 billion over the four-year period.
Lagos State led with the highest foreign investments, amounting to $35.4 billion, followed by the Federal Capital Territory with $10 billion in foreign inflows.
