Economy Expanded in Q4 Bouyed by 95.30% Non-oil Contribution

*Oil sector accounted for 4.70%, agriculture 26.11%, manufacturing 8.23%

*Growth slowed to 2.74% in 2023

James Emejo in Abuja

The Nigerian economy grew by 3.46 per cent in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023), compared to 2.54 per cent in the preceding quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday.
The GDP performance under the review period was driven mainly by the services sector, which recorded a growth of 3.98 per cent and contributed 56.55 per cent to the aggregate GDP.

According to the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Report Q4 2023, released by the statistical agency, the performance was however, lower than 3.52 per cent recorded in Q4 2022. GDP also weakened to 2.74 per cent, year on year in 2023 compared to 3.10 per cent in 2022.
In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP stood at N65.91 trillion in nominal terms, higher than N56.76 trillion recorded in Q4 2022. This indicated a year-on-year nominal growth of 16.12 per cent. Real GDP was estimated at N21.77 trillion.

In Q4, the country’s average daily oil production increased to 1.55 million barrels per day (mbpd) compared to 1.45 mbpd in the preceding quarter and also higher than 1.34mbpd recorded in Q4 2022.
Quarter on quarter, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of -3.81 per cent in Q4 2023, and grew by -2.22 per cent on annual basis compared to -19.22 per cent in 2022.

The oil sector contributed 4.70 per cent to the total real GDP in Q4 compared to 5.48 per cent in the preceding quarter and 4.34 per cent in Q4 2022.
On the other hand, the non-oil sector contributed 95.30 per cent to GDP in Q4 compared to 94.52 per cent in Q3. The sector grew by 3.07 per cent in the review quarter, and 3.04 per cent in 2023 compared to 4.84 per cent in 2022.

The agricultural sector contributed 26.11 per cent to GDP Q4 2023, lower than 29.31 per cent in the preceding quarter and 26.46 per cent in Q4 2022.
The sector grew by 2.10 per cent in Q4 from 2.05 per cent in Q4 2022, and 1.13 per cent in 2023, down from 1.88 per cent in 2022.
The manufacturing sector’s contribution to the economy dwindled to 8.23 per cent in the review period from 8.42 per cent in Q3 and 8.40 per cent in Q4 2022.
The sector grew by 1.38 per cent, year-on-year in Q4, higher than 0.90 per cent in Q3 but lower than 1.46 per cent in Q4 2022. The growth rate of the sector on a quarter-on-quarter basis stood at 9.54 per cent. It grew 1.40 per cent in 2023, lower than 2.45 per cent in the preceding year.

Also, trade contributed to 15.50 per cent to economy, higher than 15.19 per cent in Q3 but lower than 15.82 per cent in Q4 2022. On an annual basis, the sector grew by 1.66 per cent in 2023, lower than 5.13 per cent in 2022.