NIGERIA’S economy contracted by 6.1 per cent, year-on-year, in real terms, in the second quarter of 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics has said.
The Bureau said this in its Gross Domestic Product Report released on Monday.
The contraction of 6.1 per cent ended the three-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016 and 2017 recession.
The decline was largely attributable to significantly lower levels of both domestic and international economic activity during the quarter, which resulted from nationwide shutdown efforts, aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The domestic efforts ranged from initial restrictions of human and vehicular movement implemented in only a few states to a nationwide curfew, bans on domestic and international travel, closure of schools and markets etc., affecting both local and international trade.
The efforts, led by both the Federal and State governments, evolved over the course of the quarter and persisted throughout.
When compared with the second quarter of 2019, which recorded a growth of 2.12 per cent, the second quarter 2020 growth rate indicates a drop of 8.22 percentage points, and a fall of 7.97 percentage points when compared to the 1.87 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2020.
Consequently, for the first half of 2020, real GDP declined by 2.18 per cent, year on year, compared with 2.11 per cent recorded in the first half of 2019.
Quarter on quarter, real GDP decreased by 5.04 per cent.
Furthermore, the NBS stated that only 13 activities recorded positive real growth compared to 30 in the preceding quarter.
