Nigeria's GDP climbs to 2.27% in 2019 (Analysis)

Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product has begun to show signs of recovery since its recession of 2016, growing by 2.55% in real terms, in the fourth quarter of 2019, up from 2.38% growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics represents the highest quarterly growth performance since the 2016 recession.

In 2019, Nigeria's economy grew by 2.27% in real terms, standing at N19.53 trillion compared to N19.28 trillion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2018.

As for the oil sector, growth was 6.36% year-on-year indicating an increase of 7.98% points compared to the negative growth of 1.62% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2018.

The report showed that the non-oil sector grew by 2.26% in real terms in the fourth quarter. 0.44% points lower than the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2018 but 0.42% points higher than the Q3 growth rate.

Agriculture accounted for 26.09% of real GDP in Q4 2019, a marginal reduction of 0.06% point compared to Q4 2018 and 3.16% points decline compared to 29.25% recorded in the preceding quarter.

Similarly, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to real GDP in Q4 2019 was 8.74%, 0.12% points lower than the 8.86% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018 but maintained a steady 8.74% contribution as recorded in Q3 2019.

The GDP depicts the nation’s total economic activity. A decline in GDP means major economic activities are slow or sluggish, which may be a result of several factors.