Nigeria’s capital market has emerged as the third largest in Africa by number of listed companies, according to the OECD Africa Markets Report 2025.
The report shows that the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) has 156 listed companies, ranking behind Egypt’s Stock Exchange with 245 listings and South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange with 204. South Africa also leads the continent by market capitalisation, accounting for about 60 per cent of Africa’s total.
The OECD noted that only a few African markets stand out in size and activity, with South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria dominating the landscape. Together, Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria account for about 15 per cent of Africa’s market capitalisation and nearly half of all listed companies on the continent.
Other markets in the top 10 include Mauritius, Tunisia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Botswana, while several exchanges remain relatively small in terms of listings and market value.
Commenting on the ranking, Group Managing Director of Nigerian Exchange Group, Temi Popoola, said the performance reflects growing market depth, resilience and responsiveness to improving macroeconomic conditions and ongoing structural reforms.
He said the group would continue to deepen market infrastructure and leverage technology and partnerships to position Nigeria’s capital market as a leading destination for long-term investment in Africa.
