Telecoms drives ICT sector as contribution to GDP hits 16%

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Contribution of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector have added 15.97 per cent growth to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Q3 2023, largely driven by the telecommunications industry.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in the Q3 GDP statistics released at the weekend. This showed an increase in contribution when compared to the 15.35 per cent recorded in the same period last year.

However, when compared with the figure recorded in the preceding quarter (Q2 2023) the sector contributed less in Q3. NBS said ICT contributed 19.54 per cent to the real GDP in Q2, which made the Q3 figure decline.

With the ICT sector segmented into four activities by NBS to include Telecommunications and Information Services; Publishing; Motion Picture, Sound Recording, and Music Production; and Broadcasting.

For emphasis, the ICT sector in Q3 recorded a growth rate of 6.69 per cent in real terms, year-on-year. This was driven largely by activities in the telecommunications sub-sector, which contributed 13.5 per cent to the GDP in the real term.

The closest sub-sector to telecoms in the ICT sector in terms of contribution was broadcasting, which added 1.39 per cent. According to the NBS data, the ICT sector contributed 11.57 per cent to the total Nominal GDP in the 2023 third quarter, higher than the rate of 9.58 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and lower than the 14.83 per cent it contributed in the preceding quarter.

The sector in the third quarter of 2023 recorded a growth rate of 6.69 per cent in real terms, year-on-year. NBS added that from the rate recorded in the corresponding period of 2022, there was a decrease of 3.84 per cent points.

“On a quarter-on-quarter, the sector exhibited a growth of -10.30 per cent in real terms. Of total real GDP, the sector contributed 15.97 per cent in the 2023 third quarter, higher than in the same quarter of the previous year in which it represented 15.35 per cent and lower than the preceding quarter in which it represented 19.54 per cent,” NBS added.