The National Bureau of Statistics has reported that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.46% in real terms in the third quarter of 2024, reflecting a significant increase compared to the same period in 2023.
This growth rate is 0.92 percentage points higher than the 2.54% recorded in Q3 2023 and shows an improvement over the 3.19% recorded in the second quarter of 2024.
The Statistician General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, made the announcement in a press statement on Monday, highlighting the positive trajectory of the Nigerian economy.
“This reflects a higher growth rate when compared to the corresponding quarter (Q3 2023) and the preceding quarter (Q2 2024),” he noted.
According to Adeniran, the key driver of this growth is the Services sector, which recorded a robust expansion of 5.19% and contributed 53.58% to the aggregate GDP.
“The economic activity in real terms for Q3 2024 stood at N20.1 trillion, which is higher than the N18.2 trillion recorded in Q2 2024 and the N19.4 trillion recorded in Q3 2023,” he explained.
In nominal terms, aggregate GDP for Q3 2024 stood at N71.1 trillion, marking a year-on-year nominal growth rate of 17.26%.
This figure represents an increase from the N60 trillion recorded in Q3 2023 and the N60.9 trillion reported in Q2 2024.
Adeniran elaborated on the contributions of various sectors to the GDP.
“The major contributing economic activities in real terms in Q3 2024 are Crop Production (26.51%), Trade (14.78%), Telecommunications (13.94%), Crude Petroleum (5.57%), and Real Estate (5.43%),” he said.
The Agricultural sector grew by 1.14% in real terms, a slight decline compared to the 1.30% growth recorded in Q3 2023.
Meanwhile, the Industry sector showed a marked improvement, expanding by 2.18%, compared to a modest 0.46% growth in the corresponding quarter of 2023.
The Services sector, however, stood out with a 5.19% growth, surpassing the 3.99% recorded in Q3 2023.
Analyzing the sectoral contributions, Adeniran stated, “Agriculture contributed 28.65%, Industry 17.77%, and Services 53.58%.
Although Agriculture and Industry contributions were slightly lower than their Q3 2023 levels by 0.66% and 0.22%, respectively, the Services sector’s contribution increased by 0.88 percentage points.”
The oil sector showed notable progress, growing by 5.17% in Q3 2024 compared to a contraction of 0.85% in Q3 2023, although this was lower than the 10.15% growth recorded in Q2 2024.
“The oil sector accounted for 5.57% of the total GDP during the quarter,” Adeniran stated.
He added that average daily oil production for Q3 2024 was 1.47 million barrels per day (mbpd), up from 1.45 mbpd in Q3 2023 and 1.41 mbpd in Q2 2024.
On the non-oil sector, Adeniran noted its continued dominance in the economy.
“In real terms, the non-oil sector contributed 94.43% to the GDP in Q3 2024, a slight decrease from the 94.52% recorded in Q3 2023, but higher than Q2 2024’s 94.30%,” he said.
He attributed this performance to strong growth in key segments such as crop production, trade, telecommunications, and real estate.
Adeniran emphasized the importance of these gains for Nigeria’s economic resilience, stating, “The economic performance of the non-oil sector in Q3 2024 highlights the country’s potential in key industries beyond oil. This diversification is crucial for long-term economic stability and growth.”
