Nigeria’s fuel exports fell to 85.9% of merchandise exports in 2025.

Neither way is good in itself. A high share is neither good nor bad on its own. It records how concentrated goods exports are in fuel, and whether that suits a country depends on prices, reserves and what else it sells. The latest figure, 85.9% of merchandise exports in 2025, is down from 88.6% a year earlier, a fall of 2.7 percentage points. It is also the lowest reading since 2016, when the share stood at 96.5% of merchandise exports, the highest in that span.

Why it matters. At 85.9% of merchandise exports, Nigeria still earns most of its goods export income from fuel. Government revenue and the supply of foreign currency to importers and firms therefore follow oil prices and output closely. A lower share than in 2016 means non-fuel goods make up a larger slice of exports, though they remain a small part of the total.