The Nigerian economy grew at a faster pace in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, official data released on Friday show.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Africa’s biggest economy saw its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rise 2.98 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in Q1. The growth rate was higher than the 2.31 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2023 and lower than the fourth quarter of 2023 growth of 3.46 per cent.
“The performance of the GDP in the first quarter of 2024 was driven mainly by the Services sector, which recorded a growth of 4.32 per cent and contributed 58.04 per cent to the aggregate GDP,” the report said.
It said the agriculture sector grew by 0.18 per cent, from the growth of -0.90 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2023.
“The growth of the industry sector was 2.19 per cent, an improvement from 0.31 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2023. In terms of share of the GDP, the services sector contributed more to the aggregate GDP in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023,” the report added.
Analysts had earlier projected that the economy would grow faster compared to the same period of last year on the back of the expansion in the monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).
“If we look at the PMI, there’s an improvement in comparison with the first quarter of 2023. Unlike Q1 last year, where there was a cash crunch, Q1 this year didn’t experience any strain in economic activities. So, we expect growth in the non-oil sector,” Bolade Agboola, energy and consumer growth analyst at ChapelHill Denham, said.
She added that the oil production recorded slight improvement from Q1 last year and that it is also expected to be a positive for economic output in Q1 2024.