Trade, oil, gas 3 other sectors contribute over N47 trillion to Nigeria's economy

Nigeria's economy has been on steady growth, especially in the last couple of years, following multiple direct and indirect interventions by the Federal Government and the private sector.

Nigeria is one of Africa's largest economies and it has had its own fair share of challenges that threaten its economic stability and growth. However, the current government has often emphasized the diversification of the Nigerian economy from oil which has been the mainstay.

In recent times, we have seen that begin to manifest in both policy and implementation, as evident in some sectors, today, contributing more than oil to Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Legit.ng, in this article, highlights from data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics the main drivers of Nigeria's economy with emphasis on how much revenue they each contributed to the GDP.

Crop production

Crop production remains the top employer of labour with about 35% of total national employment in Nigeria in 2020. As a key activity for Nigeria's economy, crop production has continued to grow, contributing the most to Nigeria's economy in terms of revenue. It makes up for about 23% in the contribution to Nigeria's GDP, an estimated value of N17.3 trillion.

Major reasons for the transformation of the sector are the commercialization at the small, medium, and large-scale enterprise levels, and of course, the many interventions of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the last few years. Major crops grown in Nigeria include maize, cassava, rice, guinea corn, yam and beans.

Trade:

Trading activities in Nigeria in the last few years have grown tremendously. It makes up for 16% contribution to the country's economy in the amount of N11.9 trillion in 2022.

Apart from the activities of Nigeria's major exporters, the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in 2019 with its available opportunities has been a major boost for Nigeria's trade.

Nigeria's biggest trading partners include India, Spain, France, Netherlands, Canada and the US.

The Information and Telecommunication sector is one of the biggest sectors in Nigeria's economy. It contributed as much as N10 trillion, making up for about 13.6%, to Nigeria's economy in 2022.

The sector includes some of the biggest companies in the country which that span across telecommunication, broadcasting, motion pictures and publishing. Despite the challenges in the sector, which include regulatory bottlenecks, immigration of skilled ICT professionals and most importantly, shortage of electricity, ICT has continued to play an important role in Nigeria's economic development.

Crude oil and natural gas

Even though the government has put in many interventions to promote non-oil sector to become a main focus, the contributions of the oil sector to Nigeria's revenue can not be overlooked.

The sector made up for about 5.7%, contributing about N4.2 trillion to Nigeria's economy in 2022. Challenges such as crude oil thefts, illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism, have prevented Nigeria from benefiting from a global oil boom and as a result, affecting the accretion of the country’s foreign reserves.

Real Estate:

The real estate sector continues to sustain growth in Nigeria since the end of the global Covid-19 pandemic which forced it to slow down across the world. The real estate sector contributed N4.2 trillion to Nigeria's economy (5.6%) in 2022. The real estate industry in Nigeria at this time continues to be a prime investment option, regardless of a recorded housing deficit.