The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Business Expectations Survey for November 2025 has identified insecurity, high taxation, and poor power supply as the most severe challenges confronting Nigerian businesses, even as overall confidence in the economy continues to improve.
According to the survey, insecurity ranked as the leading constraint with an index score of 70.1, reflecting its persistent impact on production costs, logistics, and investment decisions. High or multiple taxes followed closely at 69.7, underscoring long-standing concerns over the cumulative burden of levies imposed by different tiers of government.
Insufficient power supply ranked third with an index of 69.3, highlighting the continued reliance of firms on self-generated electricity and the resulting increase in operating costs. High interest rates also remained a major concern, scoring 67.2, as tight monetary conditions limited access to affordable credit. Financial problems, including liquidity pressures, completed the top five constraints at 64.7.
In its assessment, the CBN noted that respondents identified insecurity, multiple taxation, poor electricity supply, high interest rates, and financial challenges as factors directly undermining operational stability and profitability in November 2025.
Other constraints cited included high bank charges (64.0), unclear economic laws (61.4), and an unfavourable economic climate (61.2). Poor infrastructure and an unfavourable political climate, both at 57.7, ranked lower, suggesting that immediate financial and operational issues outweighed political concerns during the period.
Despite these structural bottlenecks, business sentiment remained broadly positive. The aggregate Confidence Index stood at 37.5 points in November 2025 and is projected to rise steadily to 43.9 points next month, 49.6 points over the next three months, and 52.8 points over the next six months.
Sectoral data showed optimism across all major segments of the economy. The industry sector recorded the highest confidence level at 38.1 points, followed by services at 37.5 points and agriculture at 36.3 points. Expectations remained positive across all sectors over the short to medium term.
At the firm level, Mining and Quarrying led with a business confidence index of 50.0 points, while Construction followed at 33.3 points and market services at 31.6 points. Manufacturing, agriculture, and non-market services also remained in positive territory, signalling broad-based optimism.
Firms expressed strong expectations for increased business activity, with positive indices recorded for volume of activity, total orders, financial condition, and credit access in the months ahead, suggesting rising demand and improved turnover.
Regionally, optimism was recorded across all zones, though at varying levels. The North-East posted the highest macroeconomic confidence at 52.7 points, while the South-East recorded the lowest at 18.7 points. Short-term expectations were strongest in the North-East and North-West, while the North-West and South-West led projections over the next six months.
