Nigeria’s economy grew 3.46% year-on-year in the third quarterof 2024, quicker than in the first two quarters of the year, statistics agency data showed on Monday. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth was driven mainly by the services sector, which contributed more than 50% to aggregate output in the July-September period. According to NBS report Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.46% (year-on-year) in real terms in the third quarter of 2024. This growth rate is higher than the 2.54% recorded in the third quarter of 2023 and higher than the second quarter of 2024 growth of 3.19%. The performance of the GDP in the third quarter of 2024 was driven mainly by the Services sector, which recorded a growth of 5.19% and contributed 53.58% to the aggregate GDP. The agriculture sector grew by 1.14%, from the growth of 1.30% recorded in the third quarter of 2023. The growth of the industry sector was 2.18%, an improvement from 0.46% recorded in the third quarter of 2023. In terms of share of the GDP, the services sector contributed more to the aggregate GDP in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023.
In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP at basic price stood at N71,131,091.07 million in nominal terms.
This performance is higher when compared to the third quarter of 2023 which recorded aggregate GDP of N60,658,600.37 million, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth of 17.26%. For better clarity, the Nigerian economy has been classified broadly into the oil and non-oil sectors. The nation in the third quarter of 2024 recorded an average daily oil production of 1.47 million barrels per day (mbpd), higher than the daily average production of 1.45 mbpd recorded in the same quarter of 2023 by 0.02 mbpd and higher than the second quarter of 2024 production volume of 1.41 mbpd by 0.07mbpd. The real growth of the oil sector was 5.17% (year-on-year) in Q3 2024, indicating an increase of 6.02% points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2023 (-0.85%). Growth decreased by 4.98% points when compared to Q2 2024 which was 10.15%. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of 7.39% in Q3 2024. The Oil sector contributed 5.57% to the total real GDP in Q3 2024, up from the figure recorded in the corresponding period of 2023 and down from the preceding quarter, where it contributed 5.48% and 5.70% respectively.
The non-oil sector grew by 3.37% in real terms during the reference quarter (Q3 2024). This rate was higher by 0.62% points compared to the rate recorded in the same quarter of 2023 which was 2.75% and higher than the 2.80% recorded in the second quarter of 2024. This sector was driven in the third quarter of 2024 mainly by Financial and Insurance (Financial Institutions); Information and Communication (Telecommunications); Agriculture (Crop production); Transportation and Storage (Road Transport); Trade; and Construction, accounting for positive GDP growth. In real terms, the non-oil sector contributed 94.43% to the nation’s GDP in the third quarter of 2024, lower than the share recorded in the third quarter of 2023 which was 94.52% and higher than the second quarter of 2024 recorded as 94.30%.
Despite the pickup in growth, from 3.19 per cent in the second quarter and 2.98 per cent in the first, it was still short of the 6% target set by President Bola Tinubu when he took office last year in Africa’s most populous nation and top oil producer. Tinubu’s lightning reform push in the first weeks of his administration sparked hope that he could finally unleash the full potential of Africa’s sluggish economic giant. But 18 months on, the key planks of his economic overhaul – devaluing the Naira and scrapping subsidies – have triggered the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and are yet to translate into much faster growth.
The National Bureau of Statistics said the services sector grew 5.19% in the third quarter, contributing 53.58% to aggregate GDP. Nigeria’s dominant oil sector, which accounts for the bulk of government revenue and foreign exchange reserves, expanded 5.17%, with average daily oil outputof 1.47 million barrels per day (bpd), up slightly from 1.41 million bpd in the second quarter. Growth in agriculture slowed to 1.14% from 1.41% in the second quarter, while industries grew 2.18%, versus 3.53% in April-June. The International Monetary Fund forecasts Nigeria’s economy will grow 2.9% in 2024 and 3.2% next year.
