CBN report shows autonomous sources accounted for over 64% of foreign exchange inflows, while overall net inflows rose to $60.81 billion……
Nigeria’s total foreign exchange (FX) inflows rose to $109.86 billion in 2025, marking a 13.81% increase from the $96.53 billion recorded in 2024, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The figures, contained in the apex bank’s 2025 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, indicate that despite a sharp increase in foreign exchange outflows during the year, the country maintained a positive FX position with a net inflow of $60.81 billion, up from $58.16 billion recorded a year earlier.
According to the report, the growth in FX inflows was largely driven by autonomous sources, which contributed 64.21% of total inflows in 2025.
Autonomous inflows climbed to $70.54 billion, representing a 25.12% increase from $56.38 billion recorded in 2024. The CBN attributed the growth to stronger non-oil export earnings, increased over-the-counter foreign exchange purchases, and higher capital importation into the country.
By contrast, inflows through the Central Bank declined slightly to $39.32 billion, accounting for 35.8% of total FX inflows. The apex bank linked the marginal drop to lower receipts from government debt and foreign exchange swap transactions.
The report further showed that autonomous sources generated a net inflow of $54.28 billion, an improvement from $50.24 billion in 2024, while the CBN recorded a net inflow of $6.52 billion.
According to the apex bank, the stronger performance of autonomous sources played a significant role in improving foreign exchange liquidity across the economy during the year.
On the outflow side, total foreign exchange payments rose sharply by 27.83% to $49.05 billion, compared with $38.37 billion recorded in 2024.
While outflows through the CBN rose marginally by 1.74% to $32.79 billion, autonomous outflows witnessed the biggest jump, surging 164.84% to $16.26 billion during the review period.
The report also highlighted a significant rise in foreign exchange utilisation across key sectors of the economy.
Total FX utilisation increased by 59.36% to $42.83 billion, up from $26.88 billion in the previous year, largely driven by higher demand for invisible imports.
Visible imports accounted for $18.76 billion, representing 43.8% of total FX utilisation, compared with $15.62 billion in 2024.
A sectoral breakdown showed that the industrial sector accounted for the largest share of foreign exchange used for visible imports at 42.11%, followed by the oil sector at 25.91%.
Manufactured goods accounted for 15.64%, while food imports represented 10.51% of visible import-related FX utilisation. The transport, mineral, and agricultural sectors accounted for 3.78%, 1.04%, and 1.00%, respectively.
The latest figures reinforce the growing importance of autonomous foreign exchange sources in Nigeria’s external sector, with nearly two-thirds of the country’s FX inflows now coming from non-CBN channels.
The report comes against the backdrop of rising capital inflows into the country. Data previously released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Nigeria attracted $11.1 billion in capital importation during the second and third quarters of 2025, while an additional $6.44 billion was recorded in the fourth quarter of the year.
