By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Nigeria’s economy expanded by 3.89 per cent in real terms in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest Gross Domestic Product report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The figure represents an improvement over the 3.13 per cent growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, reflecting stronger performance across key sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture and non-oil activities.
According to the NBS, the agriculture sector recorded one of the most significant rebounds during the period under review, growing by 3.15 per cent compared to the marginal 0.07 per cent growth posted in the first quarter of 2025.
The industry sector also recorded improved performance, growing by 3.50 per cent from 3.42 per cent recorded in the corresponding quarter of last year.
Meanwhile, the services sector expanded by 4.31 per cent in Q1 2026, slightly lower than the 4.33 per cent growth recorded in the same period of 2025.
Despite the marginal decline, the sector remained the largest contributor to the nation’s GDP, accounting for 57.73 per cent of aggregate output, compared to 57.50 per cent recorded a year earlier.
The NBS disclosed that aggregate GDP at basic prices stood at N110.79tn in nominal terms during the quarter under review, higher than the N94.05tn recorded in Q1 2025, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth of 17.79 per cent.
The report further showed that Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production declined to 1.55 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2026, lower than the 1.62 million barrels per day recorded in the corresponding period of 2025 and slightly below the 1.58 million barrels per day produced in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Despite the decline in production volumes, the oil sector recorded real growth of 2.57 per cent year-on-year during the quarter, an improvement from the 1.87 per cent growth posted in the same period of 2025.
However, the growth rate represented a slowdown of 4.22 percentage points when compared with the 6.79 per cent growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of 9.31 per cent in Q1 2026.
The sector contributed 3.92 per cent to total real GDP during the quarter under review, slightly lower than the 3.97 per cent contribution recorded in the first quarter of 2025 but higher than the 2.87 per cent contribution posted in the preceding quarter.
The non-oil sector continued to drive overall economic growth, expanding by 3.94 per cent in real terms during the reference quarter. The growth rate was higher than the 3.19 per cent recorded in Q1 2025, although marginally lower than the 3.99 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.
According to the NBS, the sector’s growth was driven mainly by Information and Communication Technology, particularly telecommunications, alongside agriculture, trade, cement manufacturing, financial institutions, real estate, construction, and transportation and storage activities, especially road transport.
The non-oil sector accounted for 96.08 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP in real terms during the quarter, slightly higher than the 96.03 per cent contribution recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, but lower than the 97.13 per cent contribution recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Within the Mining and Quarrying sector, crude petroleum and natural gas remained the dominant activities, accounting for 91.08 per cent of the sector’s total contribution in Q1 2026.
The Mining and Quarrying sector recorded nominal growth of 13.92 per cent year-on-year during the review period. Crude oil activity posted the highest growth among the sector’s sub-activities at 16.37 per cent, followed by Quarrying and Other Minerals at 14.55 per cent.
Compared to the first quarter of 2025 and the fourth quarter of 2025, the sector recorded increases of 19.25 percentage points and 41.95 percentage points respectively.
Overall, the Mining and Quarrying sector contributed 4.23 per cent to aggregate GDP in the first quarter of 2026, lower than the 4.38 per cent contribution recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025 but higher than the 2.15 per cent contribution posted in the preceding quarter.
In real terms, the sector grew by 1.89 per cent year-on-year in Q1 2026, representing a decline of 1.08 percentage points compared to the same quarter of 2025 and a decline of 7.01 percentage points relative to the fourth quarter of 2025.
Quarter-on-quarter, the Mining and Quarrying sector recorded a growth rate of 4.79 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
Its contribution to real GDP stood at 4.14 per cent during the period under review, lower than the 4.22 per cent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025 but higher than the 3.16 per cent contribution recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.
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