Nigeria’s investment rate ranks below - PWC

Nigeria’s investment rate lags the average of 23.3 per cent recorded for sub-Saharan African countries, and 28.9 per cent for BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), a report by the PwC titled, ‘Boosting Investment: Nigeria’s Path to Growth’ has revealed.

It said between 2007 and 2016, Nigeria’s investment share of the Gross Domestic Product declined from 18.7 per cent to 12.6 per cent, reaching the lowest level in the past two decades.

The report noted, “Academic literature suggests a strong nexus exists between the level of investment and economic growth, and cites China and India as examples of economies that have successfully attained investment-led growth.

“Growth in Nigeria has been relatively strong at an average of 5.6 per cent per annum over the past decade. However, this has been fuelled by the oil boom and population expansion, rather than investments.”

The PwC report said, “Perhaps the most evident impact of the sharp decline in the oil price was in the currency market, with the naira/dollar depreciating by  35.4 per cent in the official market and 47.3 per cent in the parallel  market during the year.


“Aside from the depreciation in the currency, the illiquidity in the foreign exchange market impacted the business and investment environment, with  Foreign Direct Investment declining to an 11-year low, and a collapse in investment as a share of the GDP to 12.6 per cent – the lowest level in the past two decades