Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) experienced a year-on-year growth rate of 2.31% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, indicating a decline from the 3.11% recorded in the same period of 2022.

The latest GDP report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that this figure is also lower than the 3.52% growth recorded in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022.

The NBS attributed the sluggish growth to the adverse effects of a cash crunch experienced during the quarter.

According to the report, the services sector was the main driver of GDP growth in Q1 2023, expanding by 4.35% and contributing 57.29% to the overall GDP.

The agriculture sector experienced a contraction of -0.90%, lower than the 3.16% growth observed in Q1 2022.

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While the industry sector showed improvement with a growth rate of 0.31% compared to -6.81% in the same period of the previous year, its contribution to the overall GDP was lower than in Q1 2022.

In nominal terms, the aggregate GDP stood at N51.24 million in Q1 2023, reflecting a year-on-year nominal growth of 13.07% compared to N45.32 million in Q1 2022.

The NBS report further stated that the non-oil sector grew by 2.77% in real terms during the quarter, driven primarily by the information and communication, financial and insurance, trade, manufacturing, construction, and transportation sectors. This sector accounted for 93.79% of the nation’s GDP in Q1 2023.

The oil sector experienced a negative growth rate of -4.21% year-on-year in Q1 2023, although it showed improvement compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of 20.68% in Q1 2023. The oil sector contributed 6.21% to the total real GDP in Q1 2023.