NIGERIA’s economy recorded a marginal appreciation of 3.46 per cent year-on-year growth in gross domestic product (GDP) during the third quarter of 2024.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed this in its latest GDP report on Monday.
The growth represents an improvement of 2.54 per cent recorded in the same period in 2023 and a slight rise from 3.19 per cent in the preceding quarter.
The figures show that oil remains the mainstay of the nation’s economy as the growth is largely driven by the sector, and continued growth expansion in non-oil activities, particularly services and agriculture.
“This growth rate is higher than the 2.54 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2023 and also surpasses the second quarter of 2024, which saw a growth of 3.19 per cent.
“The performance of the GDP in the third quarter of 2024 was mainly driven by the services sector, which recorded a growth of 5.19 per cent and contributed 53.58 per cent to the aggregate GDP,” the NBS said.
The oil sector posted a real growth of 5.17 per cent in Q3 2024, rebounding significantly from a contraction of -0.85 per cent recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.
Average daily oil production increased to 1.47 million barrels per day (mbpd), up from 1.45 mbpd in Q3 2023 and 1.41 mbpd in Q2 2024.
The sector’s contribution to overall GDP stood at 5.57 per cent, reflecting its enduring significance to the Nigerian economy despite diversification efforts.
The non-oil sector continued to dominate, contributing 94.43 per cent of GDP in real terms and achieving a growth rate of 3.37 per cent.
This marked an improvement over the 2.75 per cent recorded in Q3 2023 and 2.80 per cent in second quarter (Q2) 2024.
Notably, key drivers of growth include financial institutions, telecommunications, agriculture, transportation, and construction, highlighting the importance of economic diversification.
The services sector emerged as the most significant contributor to aggregate GDP, growing by 5.19 per cent and accounting for 53.58 per cent of total GDP.
Telecommunications and information services played a pivotal role, reflecting increasing digitalisation and rising demand for connectivity.
Financial institutions also reported robust activity, further bolstering the sector’s performance.
The agriculture sector recorded modest growth of 1.14 per cent in real terms, slightly below the 1.30 per cent growth recorded in Q3 2023.
Crop production remained the dominant contributor, underscoring its critical role in food security and rural employment.
The industrial sector grew by 2.18 per cent, a significant recovery from the 0.46 per cent recorded in Q3 2023.
The mining and quarrying sub-sector, led by crude petroleum and natural gas, was the standout performer, supported by moderate gains in manufacturing and construction.
In nominal terms, Nigeria’s GDP for Q3 2024 stood at N71.13 trillion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 17.26 per cent from N60.66 trillion in Q3 2023.
This growth underlines the combined impact of inflation and increased economic activity across various sectors.
Analysts hailed the growth but observed it’s still minimal to have the needed impact since the population is growing 2.96 per cent year-on-year according to worldlometers.
“We should be able to grow appreciably beyond six per cent to create more opportunities for our people. This is not good enough, given he huge impact of our population growth on the economy and the level of inflation now confronting us,” Basil Abia, co-founder Policy Analyst, Veriv Africa said.
The ICIR reported that the economy grew by 3.19 per cent and influenced by the services sector on a year-on-year basis in real terms in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024
It indicated that the growth rate was higher than the 2.51 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2023.
It is also higher than the 2.98 per cent the NBS reported in the first quarter of 2024.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.