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Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.55 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the latest GDP report released today by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The GDP figure for Q4 2019 is the highest quarterly growth rate since 2016.

The latest figure is also 0.27 percentage points higher than the 2.28 per cent recorded in Q3 2019, and it represents an increase of 0.17 percentage points when compared to the 2.38 per cent posted in Q4 2018.

According to the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report for Q4 and Full Year 2019, the country's annual real GDP growth rate for 2019 was 2.27 per cent, compared to the 1.91 per cent recorded in 2018. Aggregate GDP for Q4 2019 in nominal terms stood at N39.6 trillion, which is higher than N35.3 trillion recorded in Q4 of the preceding year.

The statistical agency reported that the oil sector grew by 6.36 per cent in real terms in Q4 2019, representing a 7.98 percentage points increase when compared to Q4 2018. However, the oil sector growth declined by 0.13 percentage points relative to Q3 2019 when the sector recorded 6.49 per cent growth. Meanwhile, the oil sector contributed 7.32 per cent of the total GDP in the quarter under review. For the full year, the sector contributed 8.78 per cent to real GDP in 2019.

Average daily oil production in Q4 2019 stood at 2 million barrels per day (mbpd), up from the 1.91 mbpd average production recorded in a similar quarter of 2018.

The non-oil sector, according to the report, contributed 92.68 per cent in Q4 2019 and 91.22 per cent to annual real GDP in 2019. The key performing areas included information and communication, which grew at 10.6 per cent during the last quarter; agriculture sector grew by 2.31 per cent; financial and insurance services (20.18 per cent), and manufacturing (1.24). In Q4 2019, the non-oil sector recorded a growth rate of 2.26 per cent, slower than the 2.70 per cent posted in Q4 2018.

The trade sector remained in recession, recording a growth rate of -0.38 per cent in 2019, slightly higher than the -0.63 per cent posted in 2018.

Nigeria's economic growth rate for last year meets the International Monetary Fund's estimate of 2.3 per cent. However, it is lower than the country's population growth rate estimated at 2.6 per cent.