The International Monetary Fund reported that Nigeria’s GDP per capita fell to $835.49 in 2025 from $877.07 in 2024, a 4.74% decrease. The IMF data revealed a consistent downtrend over the last decade, since 2015 when it was at $2,718.
According to the data, GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, which measures the nation’s overall economic activity i.e. the total current prices of all final goods and services produced within the country fell to $194 billion a 2.51% decrease from 2024.
The IMF data shows that Nigeria’s GDP per capita in the 800’s is barely ahead that of the Democratic of Congo at $743. Likewise, Somalia is basically at Nigeria’s GDP per capita level, at $818 just $59 shy.
The IMF, however, projects a rise in 2026 and 2027, with the GDP per capita expected to cross the $1,000 mark in 2028 at $1,040.
The data also revealed that Nigeria, among other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, is within the $500 to $2,500 GDP per capita band, with some below $500.
GDP per capita is often used as an indicator of the average economic well‐being of a country’s citizens. Using an average exchange rate of N1,600 to one US dollar, in 2024, $877.07 is equivalent to about N1,403,312, also In 2025, $835.49 converts to roughly 1,336,784. A 4.74% decline in GDP per capita, suggests that on average, each Nigerian’s “economic share” has dropped by approximately N66,528, a figure just shy of the N77,000 minimum wage. For many households, especially in Nigeria where millions of people already live on modest incomes, this reduction is significant and worrisome.
