The Nigerian Naira is one of the weakest currencies in sub-Saharan Africa as of the end of August 2024, according to the latest report by the World Bank.
The report revealed that the Naira’s performance is as poor as the Ethiopian Birr and the South Sudanese Pound, highlighting the decline these currencies have experienced in recent months.
The World Bank attributed the Naira’s depreciation to a surge in demand for US dollars and a limited inflow of foreign currency. It noted that financial institutions, money managers, and other users of dollars in the parallel market have driven this high demand.
“By August 2024, the Ethiopian birr, Nigerian naira, and South Sudanese pound were among the worst performers in the region,” the report stated.
It added, “The Nigerian naira continued losing value, with a year-to-date depreciation of about 43 percent as of end-August.”
The report further explained the factors weakening the Naira: “Surges in demand for US dollars in the parallel market, driven by financial institutions, money managers, and non-financial end-users, combined with limited dollar inflows and slow foreign exchange disbursements to currency exchange bureaus by the central bank explain the weakening of the naira.”
On Tuesday, the Naira significantly dropped to N1,658.97 per dollar, down from N1,552.92 on Monday.
Despite interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the currency has struggled to stabilise against the dollar in recent months.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 32.70 percent in September, up from 32.15 percent in August 2024.
However, the World Bank has maintained a positive outlook for Nigeria’s economy, projecting growth at 3.3 percent in 2024 and 3.6 percent for 2025–26.
