North-East businesses lead Nigeria’s Economic Optimism in December 2024 – CBN Survey Reveals 

This is according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) December 2024 Business Expectation Survey.

“The outlook on the macroeconomy for the current month is driven by the current month is driven by respondents from all regions with the Northeast region being the most optimist,” CBN says.

The report revealed that optimism about the macroeconomic outlook for December 2024 is fueled by respondents across all regions, with the North-East emerging as the most optimistic. The region recorded a confidence level of 32.8%, significantly outpacing other regions such as the North-West (13.9%), North-Central (17.2%), South-West (15.5%), South-South (18.3%), and South-East (4.3%).

According to the survey, the North-East’s optimism stems from improved business conditions in key sectors such as agriculture, commerce, and small-scale manufacturing. Despite challenges in infrastructure and security, businesses in the region continue to demonstrate resilience, reflecting a positive outlook for economic activity and growth.

The CBN conducted the survey with a sample size of 1,900 business enterprises across Nigeria, achieving a response rate of 96.8%. Respondents were drawn from critical sectors, including industry, agriculture, trade, and services. These sectors play vital roles in shaping Nigeria’s overall economic trajectory.

The North-East region’s performance, as highlighted by the survey, demonstrates its strategic importance to Nigeria’s economic recovery and diversification.

However, the South-East region’s relatively low confidence level of 4.3% suggests lingering challenges that require targeted interventions, particularly in infrastructure and investment incentives.

The report also showed that businesses in the mining sector lead in average capacity utilisation. The overall average utilisation for the period under review was 55.6% overall. This is followed by agriculture (54.7%), Manufacturing (54.0%).