The chart above is V-Shaped!
Nigeria’s Bureau of Statistics revealed on Tuesday that Nigeria reported a real GDP Growth rate of 0.11% for the fourth quarter of 2020, the first time following three consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth rate.
Why this matters
- A V-shaped recovery means the economy got out of a recession faster than expected.
- Several analysts had various predictions on what Nigeria’s economic recovery chart might look like. The predictions were between U, V, L, or W, shaped.
- This was also the headline of the Nairametrics Q3 2020 Economic Outlook Webinar where most of our panelists settled for a U-shaped recovery.
- Most analysts had opined that Nigeria’s GDP Growth rate will contract again in the 4th quarter of 2020 before eeking our growth in the first quarter of 2021.
- However, the latest GDP number indicates a GDP growth rate in the 4th quarter thus a V-shaped recovery.
At 0.11%, this is the slowest GDP Growth rate Nigeria has recorded since the GDP was rebased in 2011. In the second quarter of 2017 when Nigeria also exited a recession, the GDP Growth rate was 0.72% and was considered relatively tepid at the time.
