Activities in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) contributed 16.35% to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Q3 2024, a decline from the 19.78% it added in the previous quarter.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in the Q3 2024 GDP statistics released on Monday.
The contribution was, however, higher than the 15.97% contributed by the sector in the same period of last year.
According to NBS, the ICT sector comprises the four activities of Telecommunications and Information Services; Publishing; Motion Picture, Sound Recording, and Music Production; and Broadcasting.
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The sector in the third quarter of 2024 recorded a growth rate of 5.92% in real terms, year-on-year. This was driven largely by activities in the telecommunications sub-sector, which contributed 13.94% to the GDP in the real term.
- According to NBS, the telecom industry was the third-largest contributor to the real GDP in Q3 2024, coming behind only crop production and trade industries, which contributed 26.51% and 14.78% respectively.
- The telecom industry, which is dominated by mobile network operators including MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9mobile, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) is also driving a lot of activities in every other sector of the economy.
- The closest sub-sector to telecoms in the ICT sector in terms of contribution was Broadcasting, which added 1.37%
Nominal GDP
The NBS data further revealed that the ICT sector contributed 11.30% to the total Nominal GDP in the third quarter of 2024, lower than the rate of 11.57% recorded in the same quarter of 2023 and lower than the 14.19% it contributed in the preceding quarter.
In nominal terms, in the third quarter of 2024, the sector growth was recorded at 14.51% (year-on-year), a 25.75% points decrease from the rate of 40.27% recorded in the same quarter of 2023, and 2.65% points higher than the rate recorded in the preceding quarter.
Overall GDP growth
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s GDP grew by 3.46% year-on-year in real terms during the third quarter of 2024, marking a notable increase from the 2.54% growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2023 and an improvement from the 3.19% growth observed in the second quarter of 2024.
The growth in Q3 2024 was primarily driven by the Services sector, which expanded by 5.19% and accounted for 53.58% of the aggregate GDP. This underscores the sector’s growing importance in Nigeria’s economic landscape.
The Services sector played a dominant role in driving the economy, contributing a larger share of the aggregate GDP compared to the same quarter in 2023. Its 5.19% growth highlights its resilience and capacity to spur overall economic performance.
- The Agriculture sector recorded a modest growth of 1.14%, slightly below the 1.30% growth reported in Q3 2023.
- The Industry sector posted a growth rate of 2.18%, showing significant improvement from the 0.46% recorded in Q3 2023.
The aggregate GDP at basic prices stood at N71.13 trillion in nominal terms in Q3 2024, reflecting a 17.26% year-on-year nominal growth from the N60.66 trillion recorded in Q3 2023.