That calculated dollar amount results from a 10.8% increase from $47.6 billion five years earlier during 2021.
Year over year, the total value of Nigerian exports declined by -2% compared to $53.8 billion for 2024.
Based on the exchange rate for 2025, the Nigerian naira appreciated by 6.4% against the US dollar since 2024. Nigeria’s stronger local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively more expensive for international buyers using American currency.
Nigeria’s biggest export is crude petroleum oil, a commodity that represents over three-quarters (75%) of its total exported goods by value. That percentage belies the relatively concentrated nature of the Nigerian portfolio of export products.
Nigeria places among world-leading export nations that sell oil seeds, as well as being a major competitor delivering crude oil and cocoa beans to international markets.
Where Nigeria Ships the Majority of Its Exports
The latest available country-specific data shows that 73% of products exported from Nigeria was bought by importers in: Spain (10.5% of the Nigerian total), France (8.98%), Netherlands (8.95%), India (7.5%), United States of America (7.2%), Indonesia (5.6%), Canada (5.5%), Italy (5.2%), mainland China (3.9%), Ivory Coast (3.8%), South Africa (3.7%) and United Kingdom (2.4%).
From a continental perspective, 44.3% of Nigeria’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 26.8% was sold to importers in Asia.
Nigeria shipped another 12.8% worth of goods to North America.
Smaller percentages went to Africa (11.3%), Latin America (4.5%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Oceania’s Australia (0.3%).
Given Nigeria’s population of 233.3 million people, the total US$52.7 billion in 2025 Nigerian exports translates to roughly $225 for every person in the West African nation. That dollar metric lags the average $250 per capita for 2024.
Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Nigerian global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Nigeria.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$44.1 billion (83.6% of total exports)
- Cocoa: $3.2 billion (6.1%)
- Fertilizers: $1.5 billion (2.8%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $1 billion (1.9%)
- Gems, precious metals: $405.4 million (0.8%)
- Copper: $380.8 million (0.7%)
- Oil seeds: $316.6 million (0.6%)
- Fruits, nuts: $296.3 million (0.6%)
- Aluminum: $272.7 million (0.5%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $140.7 million (0.3%)
Nigeria’s top 10 export product categories are highly concentrated accounting for 97.8% of the overall value of the African country’s global shipments.
Ores, slag and ash was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 871.6% from 2024 to 2025.
In second place for improving export sales was copper via a 197.4% upturn.
Nigeria’s shipments of gems and precious metals posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 167.7% and ahead of salt, sulphur, stone and cement (up 115.3%).
The leading decliners among Nigeria’s top 10 export categories were oil seeds (down -54.9%) and aluminum (down -22.6%).
Note that the results listed above are at the categorized two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
At the more granular four-digit HTS code level, Nigeria’s most valuable exported product was crude oil (75% of the Nigerian total). In second place were petroleum gases (12%) trailed by processed petroleum oils (5.3%), coco beans (4.4%), nitrogenous fertilizers (1.7%), tin ores and concentrates (0.6%), unwrought gold (0.58%), coconuts or cashew nuts (0.5%), copper waste and scrap (0.46%), then niobium or zirconium ores and concentrates (0.4%).
Products Generating Greatest Trade Surpluses for Nigeria
Nigeria earned an overall US$9.6 billion trade surplus for 2025, exploding by 12,575% from $75.5 million in black ink compared to 2024.
The following types of Nigerian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports reflect the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$35.7 billion (Up by 12.8% since 2024)
- Cocoa: $3.2 billion (Up by 64.5%)
- Fertilizers: $1.3 billion (Up by 108.7%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $1 billion (Up by 908.3%)
- Gems, precious metals: $342.6 million (Up by 135.6%)
- Copper: $339.1 million (Up by 232%)
- Oil seeds: $248.7 million (Down by -64.2%)
- Fruits, nuts: $219.9 million (Down by -1.6%)
- Lead: $58.8 million (Down by -28%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $46.4 million (Reversing a -$49.9 million deficit)
Historically, Nigeria has highly positive net exports particularly in the international trade of crude oil and petroleum gases. In turn, these cashflows indicate Nigeria’s strong competitive advantages under the mineral fuels including oil category.
Products Causing Worst Trade Deficits for Nigeria
Below are exports from Nigeria that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Nigeria’s goods trail Nigerian importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$6 billion (Up by 37.2% since 2024)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$5.3 billion (Up by 122.7%)
- Vehicles: -$5.1 billion (Up by 112.1%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$2.6 billion (Up by 44.1%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$1.8 billion (Up by 140%)
- Cereals: -$1.4 billion (Up by 12.3%)
- Manmade filaments: -$1.3 billion (Up by 2779.2%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$1.2 billion (Up by 77.9%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: -$1.1 billion (Up by 573.8%)
- Iron, steel: -$1 billion (Up by 357%)
Nigeria has notably negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under machinery-related product categories.
Nigerian Export Companies
Five Nigerian corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000 including three regional banks, an insurance conglomerate and a construction materials firm.
- Dangote Cement (construction materials)
- Equity Assurance (financial institution)
- FBN Holdings (regional bank)
- Guaranty Trust Bank (regional bank)
- Zenith Bank (regional bank)
Wikipedia also lists exporters from Nigeria. Selected examples are shown below.
- Julius Berger Nigeria (construction materials)
- Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (oil, gas)
- Oando (oil, gas)
- ROCAD Construction Limited (oil, gas)
- Shell Nigeria (oil, gas)
In macroeconomic terms, Nigeria’s total exported goods represent 3.3% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($1.585 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 3.3% for exports to overall GDP per PPP in 2025 compares to 3.8% for 2024. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Nigeria’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Nigeria’s unemployment rate averaged 3.06% at the end of December 2025, up from 3.04% one year earlier according to YCharts.
See also Nigeria’s Top 10 Imports, Nigeria’s Top Trading Partners and Top African Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Nigeria. Accessed on May 20, 2026
EXCHANGE-RATES.org Nigeria Naira (NGN) to US Dollar, Exchange Rate History. Accessed on May 20, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 20, 2026
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 20, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 20, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 20, 2026
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on May 20, 2026
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Nigeria. Accessed on May 20, 2026
Wikipedia, Nigeria. Accessed on May 20, 2026
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on May 20, 2026