Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have surged to $34.8 billion as of December 2025, marking a remarkable 772 percent increase from $3.99 billion at the end of 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed.
Olayemi Cardoso, the CBN Governor, announced the figures on Tuesday, attributing the sharp rise to policy reforms that have enhanced transparency and credibility in foreign exchange management, strengthened investor confidence, and attracted higher FX inflows.
Cardoso, who had earlier revealed at the post-Monetary Policy Committee briefing that Nigeria’s gross external reserves stood at $50.45 billion as of February 16, 2026, described the growth as a significant improvement in both the quantity and quality of the country’s external buffers.
“Net reserves increased from $3.99 billion at the end of 2023 to $34.80 billion at the close of 2025, reflecting a fundamental improvement in reserve quality,” Cardoso said, adding that the 2025 net reserve position alone exceeded the total gross reserves recorded at the end of 2023, which stood at $33.22 billion.
The CBN Governor further highlighted that net reserves rose from $23.11 billion at the end of 2024 to $34.80 billion at end-2025, while gross external reserves increased from $40.19 billion to $45.71 billion over the same period, a growth of $5.52 billion.
According to Cardoso, the expansion reinforces Nigeria’s capacity to meet external obligations, stabilise the exchange rate, and strengthen macroeconomic resilience.
He described the end-2025 reserve position as validation of the Bank’s ongoing economic reforms and external sector adjustments and reiterated the CBN’s commitment to maintaining adequate reserve buffers, supporting orderly foreign exchange market operations, and sustaining macroeconomic stability in line with its statutory mandate.
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