By TAIYE OLAYEMI

The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says Nigeria’s stock market ranks third-highest in Africa by the number of listed companies.

According to the OECD Africa Markets Report 2025, the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) has 156 listed companies, ranking behind Egypt’s Stock Exchange with 245 listings and South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange with 204 and market capitalisation of about $33 billion.

“South Africa has the most developed public equity market, accounting for 60 per cent of the region’s market capitalisation.

“Its market capitalisation to GDP ratio (84 per cent) is not only significantly higher than that of other African countries but also exceeds that of Ems, which stands at 61 per cent,” OECD said.

“At the country level, only a few markets stand out in terms of size and activity.

“In addition, the median size of South African listed companies is larger compared to the figure for Ems and globally, with a median market capitalisation of USD 195 million.

“Morocco, Egypt, and Nigeria also have relatively large markets, together accounting for 15 per cent of the region’s market capitalisation.

“Together, these three markets represent almost half of all listed companies in Africa.”

OECD said that other countries in the top 10 are Mauritius with 94 listed companies, Tunisia with 79, Kenya with 61, Zimbabwe with 60, Côte d’Ivoire with 45, Ghana with 29, and Botswana with 23.

“In contrast, stock exchanges in Tanzania, Ghana, Botswana, Uganda, Zambia, and Namibia remain very small, each listing between 12 and 29 companies.

“Their market capitalisation is also modest, ranging from five per cent to 20% of their respective GDPs.”

Commenting, Temi Poopola, Group Managing Director, Nigerian Exchange Group, said the milestone reflected the market’s growing depth, resilience and capacity to respond positively to improving macro-economic conditions and structural reforms.

Popoola said that the group intended to sustain the momentum by deepening market infrastructure and leveraging partnerships and technology to position Nigeria’s capital market as a leading destination for long-term investment in Africa. (NAN)