The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its GDP data for the fourth quarter of 2015 showing that not surprisingly growth in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, slowed to 2.11% as oil prices fell and manufacturing sank deeper into recession.
We looked at the report to bring out areas where the economy is still growing that our readers can still invest in and see some upside.
The NBS report shows that the Non – oil sector is still driving Nigeria’s growth.
Top on the list were Trade, Crop Production, and Information and Communication.
Others are Services and Real Estate.
The non-oil sector grew by 3.14 percent in real terms in Q4 of 2015, higher than the average growth rate for the period.
Figure 1 above shows that while the oil sector has been contracting since 2013, the non –oil has maintained positive growth although down from about 10 percent in Q2 2013.
Key growth sectors
Agriculture
Agriculture is made up of four sub-activities, namely: Crop Production, Livestock, Forestry and Fishing. In nominal terms, the sector grew by 9.50 percent year-on-year.
Trade
Trade grew by 14.75% in the Fourth Quarter of 2015 in nominal terms.
ICT
The Information and Communication sector is composed of the four activities of Telecommunications and Information Services; Publishing; Motion Picture, Sound Recording and Music Production; and Broadcasting.
In nominal terms, the sector grew by 11.01% (year-on-year) in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Transportation and Storage
Transport and Storage comprises 6 activities; Road Transport; Rail Transport and Pipelines; Water Transport; Air Transport; Transport Services; and Post and Courier Services.
The sector grew by 16.81% in Nominal terms in the Fourth Quarter of 2015 (year on year).
Arts and Entertainment
Nominal growth in the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation sector was 15.48% in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Real Estate
In nominal terms, Real Estate Services in the fourth quarter of 2015 grew by 8.27%