Key questions this article answers:
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Nigeria’s current account balance rebounded to a surplus in 2022 following three consecutive years of a deficit. What does this mean for the Nigerian economy?
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What makes up a country’s current account? What is the outlook for Nigeria’s current account in 2023?
Given the slew of real macroeconomic challenges Nigerians face daily, from rising inflation to high unemployment, it's easy for good news on seemingly-abstract macroeconomic indicators to slip through the media unnoticed and unappreciated.
One such news is the rebound in Nigeria’s financial flow, where the country earned more money from abroad in 2022 than it spent abroad, reversing a three-year trend. In other words, Nigeria’s current account (CA) turned a surplus of $1.0 billion (0.2% of GDP) in 2022 from a deficit of $3.3 billion (-0.7% of GDP) in 2021.
While 2022’s balance remains meagre compared to 2017 ($13.6 billion surplus; 3.6%
