NIGERIA’S Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.28 per cent in real terms, in the third quarter (Q3) of 2019, up from 1.81 per cent growth recorded in the third quarter of 2018, an indication of growth by 0.47 per cent points (year-on-year).
GDP represents the monetary value of all finished goods and services made within a country during a specific period.
According to the report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Nigerian economy grew by 2.28 per cent in Q3 2019, up from 2.12% growth recorded in Q2 2019. This indicates an increase of 0.17 per cent points between Q2 and Q3 2019 (Quarter on Quarter).
The GDP data released on Friday showed that the average daily oil production in the quarter was 2.04 million barrels per day (mbpd).
The non-oil sector grew by 1.85 per cent during the third quarter, while the non-oil sector contributed 90.23 per cent to the nation’s GDP in real terms.
GDP by sector shows that the industrial sector recorded the highest growth of 3.12 per cent when compared with other sectors. This is followed by the agricultural sector which grew to 2.28 per cent, while the service sector slowed down with a growth of 1.87 per cent.
Despite the increment in the GDP, the NBS data indicated that trading sector was not one of the main contributors to the growth.
In the third quarter of 2019, the nominal year-on-year growth rate for Trade stood at 1.13 per cent, indicating a decrease of –2.65 per cent points when compared to the third quarter of 2018, and –1.89 per cent points compared to the preceding quarter.
“Trade’s contribution to nominal GDP in the third quarter of 2019 was 14.69p per cent, lower than the contribution in the same quarter of the previous year of (16.45 per cent), and the preceding quarter (15.33 per cent),” said the bureau.
These changes could be an off-set of the country’s land border closure within the quarter.
According to the NBS, the growth rate in Q3 of 2019 represents the second-highest quarterly rate recorded since 2016.
However, the growth in the GDP rate might not be felt by the citizens just yet as inflation rate continues to rise.
Nigeria recorded 11.61 increase in the third quarter from 11.24 recorded in the second quarter report – showing depletion in the purchasing power of the Naira.