Kehinde Fajobi
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.46% in real terms in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, reflecting an improvement from the 2.54% recorded in Q3 2023.
Statistician General of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, shared the figures in a press statement on Monday, 25 November.
He noted that the growth is also higher than the 3.19% recorded in the preceding quarter (Q2 2024).
“This reflects a higher growth rate when compared to the corresponding quarter (Q3 2023) and the preceding quarter (Q2 2024).
“The major driver of the economy is the Services sector, which recorded a growth of 5.19% and contributed 53.58% to the aggregate GDP,” Adeniran stated.
In real terms, Nigeria’s Q3 2024 GDP stood at ₦20.1 trillion, surpassing ₦18.2 trillion recorded in Q2 2024 and ₦19.4 trillion in Q3 2023.
Nominally, aggregate GDP reached ₦71.1 trillion, marking a 17.26% year-on-year growth compared to ₦60 trillion in Q3 2023.
Sectoral Breakdown
Adeniran highlighted key economic activities driving the GDP, including Crop Production (26.51%), Trade (14.78%), Telecommunications (13.94%), Crude Petroleum (5.57%), and Real Estate (5.43%).
On sector growth, Agriculture grew by 1.14%, slightly below Q3 2023’s 1.30%. Industry improved with a 2.18% growth, compared to 0.46% in Q3 2023, while Services recorded the highest growth at 5.19%, up from 3.99% in Q3 2023.
“Agriculture contributed 28.65%, Industry 17.77%, and Services 53.58% to the GDP during the quarter.
“While Agriculture and Industry recorded marginal declines in contribution compared to Q3 2023, the Services sector showed an increase of 0.88 percentage points,” he added.
Oil and Non-Oil Performance
The oil sector grew by 5.17% in Q3 2024, reversing a decline of -0.85% in Q3 2023 but lower than the 10.15% recorded in Q2 2024.
Daily oil production averaged 1.47 million barrels per day (mbpd), higher than 1.45 mbpd in Q3 2023 and 1.41 mbpd in Q2 2024.
Non-oil GDP contributed 94.43% of the total GDP in Q3 2024, slightly down from 94.52% in Q3 2023 but higher than Q2 2024’s 94.30%.
Adeniran attributed the non-oil sector’s performance to growth in Crop Production, Trade, Telecommunications, and Real Estate.