NGX vs GSE vs NSE vs JSE: Which African Stock Market Is Winning 2026 So Far?
The year is not over, but the scoreboard is already clear. Here is how the Nigerian Exchange stacks up against Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Zimbabwe year-to-date, in local currency, in dollars, and in naira, and what it means for a Nigerian investor.
The scoreboard, as of 18 August 2026
Every figure below is year-to-date from the 31 December 2025 close to the latest available close, in the index's own currency, then converted to US dollars, then shown in approximate naira terms so a Nigerian investor can compare like with like. Numbers move daily; treat them as a snapshot, not a verdict.
| Market | Index | Local currency | In US dollars | ≈ In naira |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zimbabwe (ZSE) | ZSE All Share (ZiG) | +74.4% | n/a* | n/a* |
| Ghana (GSE) | GSE Composite Index | +73.3% | +71.8% | ≈ +60% |
| Nigeria (NGX) | NGX All-Share Index | +55.9% | +67.4% | +55.9% |
| Tanzania (DSE) | DSE All Share Index | +53.8% | +44.3% | ≈ +34% |
| Kenya (NSE) | NSE All-Share (NASI) | +29.3% | +28.0% | ≈ +19% |
| South Africa (JSE) | FTSE/JSE All Share | about flat (−2%) | about flat | ≈ −7% |
*The ZSE index is quoted in Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG); its dollar equivalent depends on which exchange rate you apply, so it is shown in local terms only. Naira figures are derived from the dollar return and the naira's own move against the dollar this year and are rounded. Source data: index levels published by each exchange, compiled on the Mansa Markets Africa performance league table (linked at the end of this article), which updates daily.
What ₦1,000,000 on 1 January would be worth today, in naira
Same money, same start date, converted back to naira at today's rates and rounded: Ghana about ₦1,600,000 · Nigeria about ₦1,559,000 · Tanzania about ₦1,340,000 · Kenya about ₦1,190,000 · South Africa about ₦930,000. Before fees, taxes and the cost of moving money, which would narrow every foreign figure by a few percent. The gap between first and second place is smaller than the headline percentages suggest, and the naira's strength this year is doing part of the work.
What is actually driving each market
Nigeria: the NGX is having a top-three year in Africa, and a top-five year in the world
The All-Share Index is up about 56 percent since January, with banks leading after the recapitalisation round and a long list of names that have more than doubled. What makes 2026 unusual is the second column: because the naira has strengthened against the dollar this year, the NGX's dollar return (about 67 percent) is higher than its naira return. For most of the last decade it was the other way round. If you are a Nigerian who has been told to "invest abroad to protect against the naira", 2026 is the year that advice would have cost you money.
Ghana: the T-bill money finally moved
The GSE Composite is up about 73 percent, on top of a 79 percent 2025. The story is simple: the 91-day Treasury bill that paid close to 29 percent in 2024 pays under 6 percent today, inflation has fallen below 5 percent, and Ghanaian savers who used to park everything in bills have been rotating into bank and telecom shares that yield 8 to 12 percent. Ghana is the one market on this list that has beaten the NGX in dollar terms this year.
Kenya: a strong 2025 (+51 percent), a calmer 2026
The NASI is up about 29 percent. Kenya's banks and Safaricom carried the market again, and the barriers to entry collapsed in 2026: CDS accounts open from a phone in minutes and NSE shares can now be bought inside M-PESA. A very good year, just not a Nigerian or Ghanaian one.
Tanzania: the quiet compounder
The DSE All Share is up about 54 percent in shillings, driven by record profits at NMB and CRDB, with market capitalisation nearly doubling in a year. A softer shilling trims the dollar figure to about 44 percent.
South Africa: flat after a record 2025
The JSE All Share crossed 100,000 points last year and finished 2025 as one of the world's best markets. In 2026 it has gone sideways in rand and in dollars. That is not a collapse, it is a pause after a big run, but for a Nigerian investor it means a small negative in naira terms.
Zimbabwe: read the currency, not just the index
The ZSE All Share is up about 74 percent, but it is measured in ZiG, and part of that is the currency moving rather than the businesses. Zimbabwe's more honest scoreboard is the US-dollar VFEX. Treat the headline number with care.
What it means for a Nigerian investor
The short version: your home market is one of the best places in Africa to have had money this year, and in dollar terms it is second only to Ghana. Diversifying across the continent is a good idea; doing it because you think the NGX is "behind" is not.
- Do not chase last year's winner. Ghana's 79 percent in 2025 and 73 percent so far in 2026 are exceptional, and exceptional years are usually followed by quieter ones. The same applies to the NGX. Buy good businesses at sensible prices, in whichever market, and let the years average out.
- Diversify for reasons, not returns. The real case for owning Ghanaian, Kenyan or South African shares is exposure to different currencies, different economies and different rate cycles, not a hope of outrunning the ASI next quarter. Two or three markets are plenty.
- Know that it is now practical. A Nigerian can open an account in Ghana, Kenya or South Africa remotely. Ghana admits non-resident investors without approval limits and settles T+3 through the CSD; Kenya's fintech apps and M-PESA's Ziidi Trader take a passport and a KRA PIN; South Africa's EasyEquities opens on a passport with no minimum. Budget for withholding tax on dividends (8 percent in Ghana, 10 percent for non-residents in Kenya, 20 percent in South Africa), for brokerage of roughly 2 percent each way in Ghana and Kenya, and for the cost and paperwork of moving money in and out. Each Mansa Markets country page in the table above links to a step-by-step account-opening guide and a directory of licensed brokers.
- Measure everything in one currency. Local-currency index moves flatter or flatten depending on the currency. Convert to dollars or naira before comparing, as the table above does.
- Keep the core at home. For most Nigerian investors the sensible structure is still a diversified NGX portfolio, tracked properly (our portfolio tracker, dividend calendar and screener exist for exactly that), with a measured slice abroad once the home base is built.
Where to watch the rest of the year
The NGX side of this comparison lives here on NGX Pulse: the ASI and sector indices, daily snapshot and heatmap. For the other exchanges, the Africa performance league table on Mansa Markets ranks all 17 tracked indices by year-to-date return in local currency and dollars, updated daily; the country pages in the table above carry each market's live board, dividend calendar and disclosures. We will update this article at the end of the year with the final 2026 numbers.
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- Index levels: Nigerian Exchange (NGX All-Share Index), Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE Composite Index), Nairobi Securities Exchange (NASI), Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE All Share Index), JSE (FTSE/JSE All Share), Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE All Share), as compiled on the Mansa Markets Africa performance league table, 18 August 2026.
- Year-to-date = change from the 31 December 2025 close. Dollar returns use each currency's move against the US dollar over the same period; naira figures are derived from the dollar return and the naira's own move and rounded to the nearest percent.
- Past performance does not guarantee future results. This article is information, not investment advice.