Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.11% in the first quarter of 2022. Non-oil sectors, such as financials, communication, trade and healthcare, were among those that recorded the fastest growth.
Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.11% in the first quarter of 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS published Nigeria’s Q1 2022 GDP numbers which shows that the economy grew for the 6th consecutive quarter by 3.11% year-on-year compared to the 0.5% year-on-year growth recorded in the same period of 2021.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the size of the economy, expanded at a slower rate in Q1 2022 that it did in Q4 of 2021 when it grew by 3.98%. However. the performance was better than a year ago when the economy grew by 0.51% in the first quarter of 2021.
Breakdown and Key Metrics
According to the recently released GDP report by the NBS, the growth rate recorded in Q1 2022 was 2.60% higher than the 0.51% growth rate recorded in Q1 of 2021. Also, it was 0.88% lower than the 3.98% growth rate recorded in Q4 2021.
Analysis of the NBS report showed that the non-oil sectors, such as financials, communication, trade and healthcare, were among those that recorded the fastest growth. This is in contrast to the oil sector, which declined by 26.04% in the first quarter of 2022 and also contracted by 8.06% from the fourth quarter of 2021.
The observed trend since Q4 of 2020 shows a gradual economic stability despite crude petroleum and natural gas, road transport, quarrying and other minerals lagging.
Other Insights
Despite the myriad of challenges both in the domestic and external economic environment, Nigeria’s improved Q1 of 2022 GDP is a bit magnified. Considering Nigeria’s economy grew by 0.5% in Q1 2021, this was a low base and provided a platform for a modest improvement in the economic statistic to make such growth appear larger in magnitude.
From a monetary perspective, the real GDP for Q1 2022 is 17.6 trillion NGN compared to Q1 2021 at roughly 17 trillion NGN. This means the level of economic expansion in Q1 2022 is just about 600 billion NGN above what Nigeria had in Q1 of 2021, when the economy was just coming out of the recession.
Takeaway
The level of moderation in GDP from 20.7 trillion NGN in Q4 2021 to 17.6 trillion NGN in Q1 2022 appears material. If the Nigerian economy continues at this pace such that the growth in Q2 2022 is not much stronger than GDP figures for Q2 2021, Nigeria is likely to witness another muted growth or possibly a potential contraction in economic activities.
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