The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that Nigeria’s Balance Of Payments (BOP) surplus fell to $14.04bn In 2025.
This is from the $19.03bn recorded the previous year, 2024, marking a steep decline of $4.99bn in one year.
The BOP is a record of all financial transactions made between a country and the rest of the world over a specific period — usually a year or a quarter. A surplus occurs when a nation gets more money from international transactions (exports, income, financial inflows) than it pays out, resulting in a net inflow of foreign currency.
This is according to the Balance of Payments (BOP) Highlights Annual 2025 released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday.
“Provisional BOP statistics for 2025 shows a current account surplus of US$14.04 billion, which was lower than the US$19.03 billion in the previous year but significantly higher than the US$6.42 billion recorded in 2023” the report noted.
On a quarterly basis, the apex bank noted that the BOP fell to $2.67 billion in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025.
“Nigeria’s overall balance of payments for Q4 2025 resulted in a lower surplus of $2.67 billion,” the apex bank said.
The decline in the BOP position was reportedly driven largely by a sharp decrease in the current account surplus, which dropped by 65.52 percent to $1.4 billion from $4.06 billion in Q3.
According to the report, “the Current Account Balance (CAB) recorded a lower surplus of US$1.40 billion in Q4 2025,” reflecting pressures from the trade and income components.
It also represents a significant drop from the $4.98 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2024.
The CBN also said the decline was largely driven by a sharp contraction in the goods account surplus, which dropped to $1.77 billion in Q4 2025 from $4.53 billion in the preceding quarter.
“Major contributors to the CAB are balance on goods account decreased to US$1.77bn from US$4.53bn (-60.93%), decrease in crude oil exports from US$8.52bn to US$6.77bn (20.54%), decrease in refined petroleum product exports from US$2.29bn to US$1.97bn (13.97%), and increase non-oil imports from US$7.02bn to US$8.77bn (24.93%),” CBN added.
In terms of goods account balance, the report showed that total exports fell to $13.36 billion from $15.31 billion in Q3, mainly due to lower earnings from crude oil, gas, and refined petroleum products.
Crude oil exports declined by 20.54 percent to $6.77 billion, gas exports dipped slightly to $2.24 billion from $2.31 billion, refined petroleum product exports also fell by 13.97 percent to $1.97 billion.
The regulator said import pressures intensified as non-oil imports rose by 24.93 percent to $8.77 billion, while refined petroleum product imports increased to $2.48 billion.
Beyond trade, the CBN said Nigeria’s primary income account recorded higher outflows, worsening the current account position.
“Net out-payments rose by 47.30 percent to $3.27 billion, largely due to increased dividend and interest payments to foreign investors,” the report added.
The report said the services account, however, showed a slight improvement, with net outflows narrowing to $3.32 billion from $3.95 billion, supported by reduced spending on travel, communication, and other service imports.
