GOOD NEWS: Nigeria’s GDP Records 2.84 % Growth in 3rd Quarter

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.84 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the third quarter of 2015, statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has shown. This is contained in the country’s GDP report for the 3rd Quarter of 2015 released by the bureau on Wednesday in Abuja. The figure was higher by 0.49 per cent points from growth recorded in the preceding quarter, yet lower by 3.38 per cent points from growth recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2014. The report said that real GDP increased by 9.19 per cent, quarter on quarter.
“During the quarter, aggregate GDP stood at about N24, 313, 636 million (in nominal terms) at basic prices. “Compared to the third quarter of 2014 value, nominal GDP was 6.02 per cent higher. “Nominal GDP growth was also higher relative to growth recorded in first quarter of the year by 0.85 per cent points,’’ it said.
According to the report, the Nigerian economy can be more clearly understood according to the oil and non-oil sector classifications. The report said that oil production rose to 2.17 million barrels per day in the third quarter of the year which was higher than the 2.05 million barrels produced in the second quarter.
The latest figure is also higher than the 2.15 million barrels per day produced in the third quarter 2014. “Growth in the non-oil sector was largely driven by activities of crop production, financial services, telecommunications and trade among others. “The non-oil sector grew by 3.05 per cent in real terms in the third quarter of the year.
“This was 4.45 per cent points lower from the corresponding quarter in 2014 and marginally lower from the second quarter of 2015. “ In real terms, the non-oil sector contributed 89.73 per cent to the nation’s GDP. “The figure is marginally higher from shares recorded in the third quarter of 2014 which stood at 89.55 per cent but lower from the second quarter of the year.
The report, however, estimated the growth in the manufacturing sector at 4. 80 per cent year-on-year compared with 21.58 per cent in third quarter of 2014.