Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) in Nigeria
Nigeria: Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) was 25.3% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Insurance and financial services in Nigeria, 1977–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
In 2025, insurance and financial services in Nigeria stood at 25.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 20.4% on the previous year and up 128.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insurance and financial services in Nigeria peaked at 31.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2003.
Nigeria ranks 9th of 190 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 1.0% | — |
| 1978 | 5.0% | +401.1% |
| 1979 | 7.1% | +40.4% |
| 1980 | 6.6% | -6.7% |
| 1981 | 4.8% | -26.7% |
| 1982 | 3.7% | -24.5% |
| 1983 | 3.7% | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 4.1% | +10.6% |
| 1985 | 5.5% | +34.3% |
| 1986 | 1.1% | -79.6% |
| 1987 | 0.5% | -52.2% |
| 1988 | 2.5% | +377.3% |
| 1989 | 0.2% | -91.3% |
| 1990 | 0.3% | +28.4% |
| 1991 | 0.7% | +161.9% |
| 1992 | 1.1% | +50.2% |
| 1993 | 0.9% | -15.2% |
| 1994 | 0.4% | -54.8% |
| 1995 | 0.6% | +39.6% |
| 1996 | 0.3% | -54.6% |
| 1997 | 0.4% | +57.9% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | -1.1% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | +99.3% |
| 2000 | 0.8% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.1% | -86.7% |
| 2004 | 0.2% | +47.0% |
| 2005 | 0.8% | +384.2% |
| 2006 | 0.6% | -23.1% |
| 2007 | 1.6% | +164.2% |
| 2008 | 0.8% | -49.0% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | -39.7% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | +12.8% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | +34.5% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | -17.3% |
| 2013 | 1.4% | +116.3% |
| 2014 | 2.4% | +76.8% |
| 2015 | 11.1% | +360.9% |
| 2016 | 10.1% | -9.0% |
| 2017 | 7.9% | -21.4% |
| 2018 | 17.6% | +121.3% |
| 2019 | 18.0% | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 26.9% | +49.4% |
| 2021 | 23.1% | -14.1% |
| 2022 | 20.7% | -10.3% |
| 2023 | 28.1% | +35.6% |
| 2024 | 31.8% | +13.3% |
| 2025 | 25.3% | -20.4% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 25.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.4%, 10.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 25.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.9%, 6.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | +401.1% | 1.0% | 5.0% |
| 2005 | +384.2% | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| 1988 | +377.3% | 0.5% | 2.5% |
| 2015 | +360.9% | 2.4% | 11.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.4% | 1.0% | 7.1% | 3 |
| 1980s | 3.3% | 0.2% | 6.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6% | 0.3% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7% | 0.1% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.0% | 0.6% | 18.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.0% | 20.7% | 31.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
- 6 Bahrain 29.0% compare
- 7 Hong Kong 28.8% compare
- 8 Bermuda 27.9% compare
- 10 United Kingdom 25.2% compare
- 11 Guinea-Bissau 21.6% compare
- 12 Switzerland 21.3% compare
More private sector data for Nigeria
- Merchandise trade 33.3% (2025)
- Food imports 12.3% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 52.5% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 41.45 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 18.94 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 6.4% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 6.1% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 55.47 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 4.55 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 233.52 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insurance and financial services in Nigeria?
- Insurance and financial services in Nigeria was 25.3% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest insurance and financial services recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 31.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest insurance and financial services recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2003.
- How does Nigeria rank for insurance and financial services?
- Nigeria ranks 9th out of 190 countries with data for 2025.
- Is insurance and financial services rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 128.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- 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 Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Financial services covers services related to financial intermediation, financial risk management, liquidity transformation or auxiliary financial activities. It also includes insurance and pension scheme services which are services related to providing life insurance and annuities, non-life insurance, reinsurance, pensions, standardised guarantees and auxiliary services to insurance, pension schemes, and standardised guarantee schemes. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.