Abuja, Lagos, Rivers dominate Nigeria's air transport sector, accounts for 70% of output - NBS

The air transport sector in Nigeria made a significant contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, with a total value of N215.6 billion.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the sector’s output is largely concentrated in a few states, with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Lagos, and Rivers accounting for over 70 percent of the sector’s total output.

Abuja led the way with a contribution of N69.88 billion, representing 32.4 percent of the sector’s total output. Lagos followed closely with a contribution of N62.64 billion, accounting for 29 percent of the sector’s output. Rivers state came third with a contribution of N22.91 billion, representing 10.6 percent of the sector’s output.

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The top 10 states in terms of air transport’s GDP share in 2023 were:

Abuja: N69.88 billion (32.4 percent of total output)
Lagos: N62.64 billion (29% of total output)
Rivers: N22.91 billion (10.6% of total output
Delta: N10.27 billion
Kano: N7.41 billion
Imo: N6.74 billion
Enugu: N5.72 billion
Edo: N5.17 billion
Akwa Ibom: N4.45 billion
Borno: N2.66 billion

Together, these top 10 states accounted for over 95 percent of the sector’s total output in 2023. On the other hand, some states had relatively low air transport contributions, including Benue, Jigawa, Niger, Kebbi, and Bauchi. Several states, including Abia, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara, had no recorded air transport contribution in 2023.

According to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the aviation sector contributes $1.7 billion to Nigeria’s GDP.

The authority’s managing director, Olubunmi Kuku, reported that over 16 million passengers traversed Nigeria’s domestic terminals, while international passenger numbers exceeded 3.5 million.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.