Gom Mirian
Nigeria’s economy has recorded a slight improvement in the second quarter of 2023, as the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.51 per cent year-on-year in real terms.
This is 0.2 per cent higher than the 2.31 per cent growth recorded in the first quarter of the year.
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the increase in GDP growth was driven mainly by the services sector, which grew by 4.42% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023 and contributed 58.42 to the aggregate GDP.
The agriculture sector also grew by 1.50%, an improvement from the growth of 1.2% recorded in the second quarter of 2022.
The growth of the industry sector stood at -1.94%, relative to -2.3% recorded in the second quarter of 2022. In terms of share of the GDP, agriculture and the industry sectors contributed less to the aggregate GDP in the second quarter of 2023, compared to the second quarter of 2022.
However, despite the growth recorded in the second quarter of the year, the country’s GDP growth still fell short of the 3.54% growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2022, representing a 1.03% decrease.
The report also shows that the oil sector, which is a major contributor to Nigeria’s GDP, recorded a real growth rate of -13.43% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023, although this was lower than the 1.66% growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2022 (-11.77%). The growth also decreased by 9.22% points when compared to Q1 2023 which was –4.21%.
Meanwhile, the non-oil sector also recorded growth, albeit at a slower pace, growing by 3.58% in real terms during the reference quarter (Q2 2023). This rate was lower by 1.19% points compared to the rate recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and 0.81% points higher than the first quarter of 2023.
This sector was driven in the second quarter of 2023 mainly by Information and Communication (Telecommunication); Financial and Insurance (Financial Institutions); Trade; Agriculture (Crop production); Manufacturing (Food, Beverage & Tobacco); Construction; and Real Estate, accounting for positive GDP growth.
In real terms, the non-oil sector contributed 94.66% to the nation’s GDP in the second quarter of 2023, higher than the share recorded in the second quarter of 2022 which was 93.67% and higher than the first quarter of 2023 recorded as 93.79%.
