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Nigeria’s crisis-hit economy expands 3% in Q2

Jul 22, 2025, 7:13am EDT
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A man carrying shopping bags looks on as he walks past a shop in Jabi neighbourhood in Abuja.
Olympia de Maismont/AFP via Getty Images

Nigeria’s GDP grew more than 3% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, suggesting its economy may be recovering after the biggest crisis in a generation.

The positive figures came as the country’s central bank is due to decide whether to maintain its eyewatering 27.5% interest rate, one of the world’s highest.

Inflation peaked at 34% after the government cut a costly fuel subsidy in 2023 a move economists say was needed despite the short-term pain. The decision may have helped the Nigerian economy — sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest — turn a corner: The country’s stock market is up 18% this year with economic growth rising despite a fall in the price of oil, Nigeria’s main export.

A chart showing Nigeria’s GDP growth by presidential term.
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