Nigeria has retained its status as a lower middle income (LMI) country. The classification is part of the World Bank’s annual country classifications by income level for the period of 2024-2025.
Previously, Nigeria was among the low-income countries in 1987. Over the years, due to economic growth and changes in its gross national income (GNI) per capita, Nigeria moved up to the lower-middle-income category by 2022.
Other African countries that are currently classified as lower-middle-income countries, alongside Nigeria, include Angola, Benin Cape Verde, Cameroon, Congo, Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Arab Republic of Egypt, Eswatini, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The World Bank Group categorises the world’s economies into four income groups based on Gross National Income (GNI) per capita: low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high.
These classifications are updated annually on July 1st and are based on GNI figures from the previous calendar year.
Countries in Lower-middle-income economies group have a moderate GNI per capita, higher than low-income economies but below a higher threshold.
