In the latest release by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s first quarter year-on-year Gross Domestic Product grew by 1.87 percent.
The performance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, sharp drop in oil prices and restricted international trade represents a drop of -0.23 percent and -0.68 percent compared to Q1 2019 AND Q4 2019, respectively.
In the data provided by the NBS, the Q1 GDP growth is a reflection of the earliest impacts of disruptions, particularly on the non-oil sectors of the economy, while quarter-on-quarter real GDP growth was -14.27 percent compared to 5.59 percent recorded in the previous quarter.
In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP stood at N35,647,406.08 million in nominal terms. This performance was higher when compared to the first quarter of 2019 which recorded N31,824,349.67 million, with a nominal growth rate of 12.01 percent year on year.
Relative to the first quarter of 2019, the nominal growth rate was higher by 0.11 percent points but lower than the proceeding quarter by –0.32 percent points.
The oil sector which grew by 5.06 percent contributed 9.50 percent to aggregate real GDP in Q1 2020, up from figures recorded in the corresponding period of 2019 and the preceding quarter, as the share of the non-oil economy declined.
Meanwhile, the non-oil sector grew by 1.55 percent in real terms during the reference quarter (Q1 2020). This was slower by –0.93 percent points compared to the rate recorded during the same quarter of 2019, and –0.72 percent points slower than the fourth quarter of 2019.
The non-oil sector was driven mainly by telecom, financial, agricultural (crop production), mining and quarrying, and construction sectors.
The non-oil sector contributed 90.50 percent to the nation’s GDP in the first quarter of 2020, less than its share in the first quarter of 2019 which was 90.78 percent and the fourth quarter of 2019 recorded as 92.68 percent.
Activities that witnessed weaker performance relative to Q1 2019 include quarrying, road transport, accommodation and food services as well as real estate.
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