Nigeria’s private sector continued to gain ground in September 2025, as the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 54.0 points, indicating a stronger pace of economic expansion.
The latest PMI report from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed an increase from 51.7 points in August, marking the tenth consecutive month of growth across key sectors including industry, services and agriculture. The data underscores sustained economic resilience through the third quarter of the year.
The CBN survey revealed a broad-based expansion, with 28 out of 36 subsectors recording growth during the month. The forestry subsector led with an index of 73.6 points, while non-metallic mineral products recorded the weakest performance at 40.7 points.
Sectoral Performance
The industry sector returned to expansion territory in September, rising to 51.4 points from 49.1 points in August after a brief contraction. Eleven of the 17 subsectors reported growth, led by printing and related support activities at 59.4 points. Indicators such as output (51.6), employment (51.9) and suppliers’ delivery time (54.6) all showed improvement, though new orders (49.4) declined slightly.
The services sector maintained solid momentum, recording 54.7 points for the eighth consecutive month of growth. All major indicators expanded, with business activities at 56.3 points, new orders at 55.1, and employment at 54.1. Educational services led the sector with 65.8 points, while professional, scientific and technical services saw a mild decline to 45.6 points.
Agriculture remained the economy’s strongest-performing sector, with its PMI rising to 54.8 points, marking a 14-month streak of expansion. All subsectors recorded growth, with forestry again leading the way. General farming activities (55.4), new orders (55.9), and inventories (54.5) all contributed to the solid performance.
Despite the expansion, businesses continued to face higher input costs compared with output prices. Composite input prices stood at 64.2 points, while output prices reached 59.9. The agriculture sector experienced the steepest cost pressures, while services posted the highest output prices.
