Nigeria has returned to a JP Morgan government bond benchmark more than a decade after its bonds were removed from the bank’s flagship emerging-markets index.
The country has been included in JP Morgan’s newly introduced Government Bond Index–Emerging Markets Edge, with Nigerian government bonds assigned a 7.4 per cent weighting.
The development was disclosed in JP Morgan’s Global Index Research report dated September 14, 2026, and confirmed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele.
The inclusion gives naira-denominated Federal Government bonds renewed visibility among international fixed-income investors who track or benchmark their portfolios against JP Morgan indices.
Nigeria’s 7.4 per cent allocation is close to the 8 per cent maximum weighting assigned to individual countries in the index.
The Nigerian allocation covers about $17.47bn worth of eligible government bonds across 16 instruments. The securities have an average yield to maturity of 17.1 per cent, an average duration of 3.38 years and a B- sovereign credit rating.
The GBI-EM Edge tracks about $328bn in local-currency government debt across 425 instruments, 26 markets and 24 currencies.
Nigeria is among the markets with the largest allocations in the benchmark. Vietnam, Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan each have an 8 per cent weighting, while Sri Lanka has 7.5 per cent.
Kenya has a 6.91 per cent weighting, followed by Tunisia at 5.32 per cent and Uganda at 4.84 per cent.
The return is significant because Nigeria was removed from J.P. Morgan’s Government Bond Index–Emerging Markets in October 2015.
Nigeria had initially been admitted to the index in October 2012 after the development of a more active domestic Federal Government bond market, supported by market makers, a two-way quote system and a broader investor base.
The Debt Management Office said Nigeria’s 2015 removal followed concerns over liquidity and transparency in the foreign-exchange market.
The return to the J.P. Morgan benchmark is expected to increase the international visibility of Nigeria’s local-currency government debt and potentially attract greater attention from global fixed-income investors.
The development also reflects broader efforts to deepen Nigeria’s domestic bond market and improve access for international investors.
