Nigeria’s GDP rises 2.98% in Q1 on services sector growth

The Nigerian economy grew at a faster pace in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, official data released on Friday show.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Africa’s biggest economy saw its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rise 2.98 percent (year-on-year) in real terms in Q1. The growth rate was higher than the 2.31 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2023 and lower than the fourth quarter of 2023 growth of 3.46 percent.

Read also: Nigeria’s PMI expansion signals stronger economic growth in Q1

“The performance of the GDP in the first quarter of 2024 was driven mainly by the Services sector, which recorded a growth of 4.32 percent and contributed 58.04 percent to the aggregate GDP,” the report said.

It said the agriculture sector grew by 0.18 percent, from the growth of -0.90 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2023.

“The growth of the industry sector was 2.19 percent, an improvement from 0.31 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2023. In terms of share of the GDP, the services sector contributed more to the aggregate GDP in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023,” the report added.

Analysts had earlier projected that the economy would grow faster compared to the same period of last year on the back of the expansion in the monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).

“If we look at the PMI, there’s an improvement in comparison with the first quarter of 2023. Unlike Q1 last year, where there was a cash crunch, Q1 this year didn’t experience any strain in economic activities. So, we expect growth in the non-oil sector,” Bolade Agboola, energy and consumer growth analyst at ChapelHill Denham, said.

She added that the oil production recorded slight improvement from Q1 last year and that it is also expected to be a positive for economic output in Q1 2024.