AGS NEWS – The latest GDP report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday reveals a decline in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product growth, falling to 2.74% in 2023 from 3.10% in 2022.
This marks the slowest growth since 2020 when the economy contracted by -1.92% due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the NBS’s ‘Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report, (Q4 2023),’ growth in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors decreased in 2023, alongside a significant reduction in the service sectors’ performance.
AGS NEWS reports that the manufacturing sector saw a decrease of 1.40% in 2023 compared to 2.45% in 2022, while the agriculture sector grew by 1.13% in 2023, down from 1.88% in 2022.
On an annual basis, the non-oil sector’s growth stood at 3.04% in 2023, relative to 4.84% in 2022, with the oil sector experiencing a growth rate of -2.22% in 2023 compared to -19.22% in 2022, despite an average daily oil production of 1.55 million barrels per day.
The country’s full-year GDP growth falls below global projections from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the African Development Bank.
The World Bank projected a 2.9% growth for Nigeria in 2023, down from 3.3% in 2022, while the IMF retained its forecast of 3.2% growth. The African Development Bank projected a slight increase to 3.1% in 2023.
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In the fourth quarter of 2023, GDP grew by 3.46% (year-on-year) in real terms, lower than the 3.52% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022 but higher than the third quarter of 2023 growth of 2.54%.
The services sector was the main driver, recording a growth of 3.98% and contributing 56.55% to the aggregate GDP.
Experts attribute the decline in GDP growth to factors such as high production costs and uncertainties surrounding the general elections. They emphasize the need to boost oil production to avoid potential dangers ahead.
AGS NEWS 