Nigeria Beats South Africa, Ghana, Others to Emerge as Africa’s Best-Performing Economy — Institute for Management Development (IMD) Report

Nigeria has emerged as Africa’s best-performing economy in the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking 2026, outperforming South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia and Botswana on the report’s economic performance pillar.

The report ranked Nigeria 55th globally in economic performance with a score of 45.2, the highest among the six African countries assessed. South Africa followed with 36.27, while Ghana, Kenya, Namibia and Botswana trailed behind.

However, despite leading the continent in economic performance, Nigeria slipped one place in the overall global competitiveness ranking, dropping from 67th in 2025 to 68th out of 70 economies in 2026.

According to the report, weak infrastructure, macroeconomic instability and institutional challenges continue to hold the country back. Nigeria’s infrastructure ranking fell to 70th globally, making it the country’s weakest area.

The IMD also found that Nigerian business leaders see high borrowing costs (67.6%), exchange rate volatility (67.3%) and inflation (61.2%) as the biggest obstacles to competitiveness. Insecurity, unreliable electricity supply and transport bottlenecks were also highlighted as major concerns.

On a brighter note, Nigeria ranked 16th in public finance, 15th in tax policy and 22nd in labour market performance, showing strengths in key areas despite broader structural challenges.

The report concluded that while Nigeria currently leads Africa in economic performance, sustained reforms to improve infrastructure, strengthen institutions and reduce the cost of doing business are essential for the country to climb the global competitiveness rankings.