New data on Nigeria’s export ratio indicates that efforts to diversify the economy have remained elusive in spite of the huge investment in sectors as agriculture.
The data compiled by StatiSense and the Observatory of Economic Complexity ,OEC, says petroleum remains Nigeria’s most valuable export, accounting for the bulk of the country’s foreign trade earnings and placing it among the world’s leading crude exporters.
OEC which source its data from UN Comtrade, is an online data visualization and distribution platform for international trade data designed and owned by Datawheel.
In its latest report, it listed petroleum as Nigeria’s leading export commodity, alongside other oil-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Norway and the United Arab Emirates. Petroleum also tops the export list in Egypt, Finland, India, Spain and Sweden.
Figures from the OEC show that in 2023, Nigeria exported $63.1 billion worth of goods, ranking 52nd globally. Crude petroleum alone contributed $45.6 billion, followed by petroleum gas ($8.26 billion), gold ($1.54 billion), nitrogenous fertilisers ($1.07 billion) and cocoa beans ($753 million).
The top destinations for Nigerian exports were the United States ($6.14 billion), Spain ($5.89 billion), the Netherlands ($5.26 billion), France ($4.74 billion) and India ($3.88 billion).
Petroleum exports account for more than 80 percent of Nigeria’s total export earnings. Economists warn that this heavy reliance leaves the country vulnerable to global oil price swings, market demand fluctuations, and the ongoing global shift towards renewable energy.
Nigeria’s Economic Complexity Index ranking remains low, placing 129th out of 132 countries for trade in 2023. It ranked 95th out of 96 in technology complexity (2021) and 51st out of 137 in research complexity (2023).
Global trade comparisons from the StatiSense dataset show varied export strengths: Kenya exports tea, Ethiopia coffee, South Africa gold, Madagascar vanilla, Japan and Germany vehicle engines, France aircraft, Switzerland gold, and Malaysia electronics.
Nigeria’s reliance on crude mirrors the situation in other oil-dependent economies, but the country also faces domestic challenges such as refining capacity constraints, insecurity in oil-producing regions, and high import dependence for refined petroleum products.
