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The Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.84 per cent in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting an improvement from the 3.46 per cent recorded in the same period of 2023.
This also marked a slight increase from the previous quarter, which recorded an identical 3.46 per cent growth rate.
The latest GDP data released by the National Bureau of Statistics attributes the expansion to stronger performance in the services sector, which recorded a 5.37 per cent growth rate and accounted for 57.38 per cent of the country’s total GDP.
According to the report, “Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.84 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2024.
This growth rate is higher than the 3.46 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024 growth rate (approximately 3.46 per cent).
“The performance of the GDP in the fourth quarter of 2024 was driven mainly by the Services sector, which recorded a growth of 5.37 per cent and contributed 57.38 per cent to the aggregate GDP.”
Reportedly, the figures released for the GDP are not based on the rebased methodology. Despite the overall economic growth, the agriculture sector recorded a slower expansion of 1.76 per cent, down from 2.10 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2023.
The industry sector also experienced a downturn, growing by 2.00 per cent, lower than the 3.86 per cent posted in the previous year.
In nominal terms, aggregate GDP for the fourth quarter of 2024 stood at N78.37tn, marking an 18.91 per cent increase from N65.91tn recorded in the same quarter of 2023.
For the full year 2024, Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.40 per cent, an improvement from the 2.74 per cent recorded in 2023, driven mainly by the non-oil sector.
The oil sector’s contribution to GDP declined slightly, accounting for 4.60 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 4.70 per cent in the same period of 2023 and 5.57 per cent in the previous quarter.
Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production stood at 1.54 million barrels per day, a slight drop from 1.56mbpd recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023 but an improvement from 1.47mbpd in the third quarter of 2024.
The sector recorded a real GDP growth rate of 1.48 per cent, significantly lower than the 12.11 per cent recorded in Q4 2023 and the 5.17 per cent posted in Q3 2024.
Also, key industries responsible for this growth include financial and insurance services, information and communication (notably telecommunications), agriculture (particularly crop production), trade, transportation and storage (especially road transport), and manufacturing.
The mining and quarrying sector, which includes crude petroleum, natural gas, and solid minerals, recorded a real GDP growth of 2.23 per cent, significantly lower than the 8.04 per cent recorded in Q4 2023.
Its contribution to GDP stood at 4.84 per cent, slightly down from 4.91 per cent in the same quarter of the previous year.
The agriculture sector, which remains critical for food security and employment, saw its real GDP growth slow to 1.76 per cent, compared to 2.10 per cent in Q4 2023.
Its contribution to GDP increased to 6.10 per cent, from 4.95 per cent in Q4 2023.
The information and communication sector, largely driven by telecommunications, maintained its strong performance with real GDP growth of 5.90 per cent, slightly below the 6.32 per cent recorded in Q4 2023.
The sector accounted for 17.00 per cent of total GDP, up from 16.66 per cent in the previous year.
The transportation and storage sector saw a major turnaround, growing by 18.61 per cent in Q4 2024, in contrast to the -29.00 per cent contraction recorded in Q4 2023.
Its share of GDP stood at 1.26 per cent. Meanwhile, the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply sector contracted by -5.04 per cent in real terms, a sharp decline from the 6.17 per cent growth recorded in Q4 2023. The sector’s contribution to GDP remained at a modest 0.49 per cent.
