Nigeria remains among Africa’s economically constrained countries, ranking 25th out of 51 African economies, according to the 2025 Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom Index.
With an overall score of 53.4, Africa’s most populous nation was classified as “Mostly Unfree”, just above the Sub-Saharan African average of 53.2 and well behind peers such as Mauritius, Botswana, Cabo Verde, and Seychelles.
“Economies rated ‘Free’ or ‘Mostly Free’ in the 2025 Index enjoy incomes that are more than twice the average levels in all other countries and more than five times higher than the incomes of ‘repressed’ economies.”
Mauritius, the only African nation to fall within the “Mostly Free” category, emerged as Africa’s most economically free country with a score of 75.0. This placed it at number 15 on the global ranking.
The 2025 rankings reveal a widening gap between a small group of reform-oriented African economies and the rest of the continent. Botswana (69.9), Cabo Verde (68.7), and Seychelles (66.4) follow Mauritius but remain several points behind, keeping them in the “Mostly Unfree” tier.
Nigeria also trailed countries such as Morocco (60.3), Tanzania (59.3), Namibia (58.7), Benin (58.5), Cote d’Ivoire (57.8), South Africa (57.3), Ghana (56.0), and Senegal (56.4), despite its size and economic potential.
Countries at the bottom of the index, such as Zimbabwe, Sudan, Eritrea, and Burundi, remain in the “Repressed” category, reflecting prolonged conflict, heavy state control, and entrenched corruption.
Economic freedom is closely linked to investment inflows, business information, and long-term growth. Nigeria’s low ranking, at a time when the government is seeking to stabilise the economy through exchange-rate reforms, subsidy removal, and fiscal adjustments, could discourage investors looking to invest in Nigeria.
“ While the country remains the ‘Giant of Africa’ in population and GDP, the structural changes needed to develop a vibrant private sector have not emerged. The entrepreneurial environment remains burdened by time-consuming regulatory procedures, and systemic corruption continues to introduce insecurity into economic relations,” the report stated.
