The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigeria’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector contributed 17.00% to the country’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2024.
This represents an increase from 16.66% recorded in the same quarter of 2023 and 16.35% in the preceding quarter of 2024.
According to the NBS report, the ICT sector’s annual contribution to real GDP stood at 17.68% in 2024, slightly higher than the 17.34% recorded in 2023.
Despite this growth, the sector experienced a slowdown in nominal and real terms compared to the previous year.
Nominal growth declines year-on-year
In nominal terms, the ICT sector grew by 11.57% year-on-year in Q4 2024, a significant drop from the 39.57% growth recorded in the same quarter of 2023.
- This represents a 28.00 percentage point decrease. Quarter-on-quarter, the sector’s nominal growth rate was 14.55%, contributing 11.75% to nominal GDP in Q4 2024.
- This is lower than the 12.52% contribution in Q4 2023 but higher than the 11.30% recorded in Q3 2024.
- For the full year, the sector contributed 12.48% to nominal GDP in 2024, down from 12.95% in 2023.
Real GDP growth Slows
In real terms, the ICT sector grew by 5.90% year-on-year in Q4 2024, a slight decline of 0.42 percentage points compared to the 6.32% growth recorded in Q4 2023.
Quarter-on-quarter, the sector showed stronger performance with a 16.81% growth rate.
However, the sector’s overall real GDP growth for 2024 stood at 5.42%, lower than the 7.91% recorded in 2023.
- 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.
- A breakdown of the sector’s contribution shows that the telecom sub-sector remains the lead driver of ICT growth in Nigeria with 14.40% contribution to the GDP in Q4 2024.
- According to NBS, the telecom industry was the third-largest contributor to the real GDP in Q4 2024, coming behind only Crop production and Trade industries, which contributed 23.42% and 15.1% 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.
What you should know
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently declared that it was working in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy to push the contribution of the telecom sector to 25% through policies.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, who stated this said the sector has doing well with its contribution currently around 14% but it could do better if current challenges confronting the sector are addressed.
