Bank concentration in Nigeria
Nigeria: Bank concentration was 59.3% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Bank concentration in Nigeria, 2000–2021
Source: Bankscope, Bureau van Dijk (BvD). Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, bank concentration in Nigeria stood at 59.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 33.0% on the previous year and up 31.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, bank concentration in Nigeria peaked at 84.7% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 23.3%, in 2002.
Nigeria ranks 129th of 170 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Bank concentration in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 27.4% | — |
| 2001 | 23.5% | -14.3% |
| 2002 | 23.3% | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 23.4% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 36.1% | +54.2% |
| 2005 | 59.0% | +63.3% |
| 2006 | 71.1% | +20.6% |
| 2007 | 76.0% | +7.0% |
| 2008 | 78.3% | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 78.0% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 84.7% | +8.6% |
| 2011 | 45.3% | -46.6% |
| 2012 | 39.1% | -13.6% |
| 2013 | 40.0% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 40.0% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 37.6% | -5.9% |
| 2016 | 40.5% | +7.6% |
| 2017 | 41.2% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 40.0% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 44.1% | +10.3% |
| 2020 | 44.6% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 59.3% | +33.0% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 59.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 68.4%, 87% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 59.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 77.1%, 77% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Bank concentration in Nigeria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +63.3% | 36.1% | 59.0% |
| 2004 | +54.2% | 23.4% | 36.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 49.6% | 23.3% | 78.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.3% | 37.6% | 84.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 52.0% | 44.6% | 59.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
- 126 Kazakhstan 60.3% compare
- 127 Niger 59.7% compare
- 128 Uzbekistan 59.5% compare
- 130 Mauritius 59.1% compare
- 131 Sri Lanka 57.7% compare
- 132 New Zealand 57.2% compare
More financial sector data for Nigeria
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per capita 1.01 units per person (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per capita 0.7387 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per capita 1.01 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, SDR, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is bank concentration in Nigeria?
- Bank concentration in Nigeria was 59.3% in 2021, according to Bankscope, Bureau van Dijk (BvD).
- What is the highest bank concentration recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 84.7% in 2010.
- What is the lowest bank concentration recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.3% in 2002.
- How does Nigeria rank for bank concentration?
- Nigeria ranks 129th out of 170 countries with data for 2021.
- Is bank concentration rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from Bankscope, Bureau van Dijk (BvD), published as part of Bank concentration (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Raw data are from Bankscope. (Sum(data2025) for three largest banks in Bankscope) / (Sum(data2025) for all banks in Bankscope). Only reported if number of banks in Bankscope is 3 or more. Calculated from underlying bank-by-bank unconsolidated data from Bankscope.