THE Nigerian stock market has emerged as Africa’s third-largest by number of quoted companies, based on a new assessment by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Figures from the OECD’s Africa Markets Report 2025 show that the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) currently lists 156 companies. This places Nigeria behind Egypt’s Egyptian Stock Exchange, which has 245 listed firms, and South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange with 204 companies. The NGX’s total market capitalisation was estimated at about $33 billion.

The OECD noted that South Africa continues to dominate Africa’s public equity space, accounting for roughly 60 percent of the continent’s total market capitalisation. It added that South Africa’s market capitalisation-to-GDP ratio of 84 percent was far above that of other African economies and also exceeded the average for emerging markets, which stood at 61 percent.

The Paris-based organisation further observed that only a handful of African stock markets demonstrated significant scale and activity. It highlighted that South African listed companies were substantially larger on average than their emerging market and global peers, with a median market value of about $195 million. Alongside South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria were identified as relatively sizable markets, jointly contributing around 15 percent of Africa’s total market capitalisation and accounting for nearly half of all listed firms on the continent.

Beyond the top three, other exchanges in Africa’s top 10 by number of listed companies included Mauritius with 94 firms, Tunisia with 79, Kenya with 61, Zimbabwe with 60, Côte d’Ivoire with 45, Ghana with 29 and Botswana with 23.

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In contrast, the OECD pointed out that several African bourses remained small in both size and depth. Exchanges in Tanzania, Ghana, Botswana, Uganda, Zambia and Namibia each listed between 12 and 29 companies, with market capitalisation levels generally ranging from about 5 percent to 20 percent of their respective gross domestic products.

The report underlined the strategic importance of Nigeria’s capital market. With strong representation from sectors such as banking, telecommunications, manufacturing and energy, the NGX served as a home to major blue-chip firms, including MTN Nigeria and BUA Foods. As a result, the exchange plays a central role in domestic wealth creation and in attracting institutional investors.

Market performance has remained strong into 2026. Nigeria’s equity market crossed the N100 trillion valuation threshold, closing at N101.8 trillion on 5 January 2026. The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Group, Mr Temi Popoola, said the achievement underscored the market’s increasing depth, resilience and ability to respond positively to better macroeconomic conditions and ongoing structural reforms.

Popoola added that the Exchange planned to maintain the positive trajectory by strengthening market infrastructure, expanding partnerships and deploying technology, as part of efforts to position Nigeria’s capital market as a leading long-term investment hub in Africa.

Analysts also anticipate that the bullish trend will persist. In a recent outlook, the Central Bank of Nigeria stated that the capital market is expected to stay positive in 2026, supported by the ongoing recapitalisation programme, improving investor sentiment and policy initiatives designed to stimulate growth.

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The report further outlined key initiatives likely to encourage more participants into the market. These include the NGX’s technology-driven strategy, collaborations with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the zero per cent capital gains tax for small businesses, and the N150 million tax exemption for retail investors. Higher trading volumes have drawn increased foreign portfolio inflows, while better foreign exchange liquidity and clearer regulations have continued to support foreign investor confidence.

NGX ranks 4th by returns

Economy Post had earlier reported that the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) was ranked the fourth best-performing stock market globally in 2025. This is, however, a step-down from the third position recorded by the NGX in 2024, according to African Markets, which focuses on analyses of markets across Africa.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) returned 51.2 percent last year, with market capitalisation reaching N99.3 trillion by the end of 2025, which was its strongest performance since 2007.

According to the African Markets, momentum was especially strong in the second half (H1) of 2025, with returns nearly at 30 percent over the 6-month period, driven by a 16.6 percent gain in July.