By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s economy, measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), grew by 3.46 per cent in real terms in the third quarter of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This growth rate is higher than the 2.54 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2023 and higher than the second quarter of 2024 growth of 3.19 per cent.
The performance of the GDP in the third quarter of 2024 was driven mainly by the Services sector, which recorded a growth of 5.19 per cent and contributed 53.58 per cent to the aggregate GDP.
The agriculture sector grew by 1.14 per cent, from the growth of 1.30 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2023. The growth of the industry sector was 2.18 per cent, an improvement from 0.46% recorded in the third quarter of 2023.
In terms of share of the GDP, the services sector contributed more to the aggregate GDP in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023.
In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP at basic price stood at N71.13 trillion in nominal terms. This performance is higher when compared to the third quarter of 2023 which recorded aggregate GDP of N60.66 trillion, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth of 17.26 per cent.
The oil sector contributed 5.57 per cent to the total real GDP while the non-oil sector contributed 94.43 per cent to the nation’s GDP in the third quarter of 2024.
Nigeria in the third quarter of 2024 recorded an average daily oil production of 1.47 million barrels per day, higher than the daily average production of 1.45 million barrels per day recorded in the same quarter of 2023 by 0.02 million barrels per day and higher than the second quarter of 2024 production volume of 1.41 million barrels per day by 0.07 million barrels per day.
The real growth of the oil sector was 5.17 per cent (year-on-year) in Q3 2024, indicating an increase of 6.02 per cent points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2023 (-0.85 per cent). Growth decreased by 4.98 per cent points when compared to Q2 2024 which was 10.15 per cent. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of 7.39 per cent in Q3 2024.
Meanwhile, the non-oil sector grew by 3.37 per cent in real terms during the reference quarter (Q3 2024). This rate was higher by 0.62 per cent points compared to the rate recorded in the same quarter of 2023 which was 2.75 per cent and higher than the 2.80 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2024.
This sector was driven in the third quarter of 2024 mainly by Financial and Insurance (Financial Institutions); Information and Communication (Telecommunications); Agriculture (Crop production); Transportation and Storage (Road Transport); Trade; and Construction, accounting for positive GDP growth.