Contributions of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Q3 2024 dropped by 3.43 per cent. It moved from 19.78 per cent in Q2 to 16.35 per cent three months after, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed.
Released on Monday, the Q3 2024 figure was, however, 0.38 per cent higher than the 15.97 per cent contributed by the sector in Q3 2023.
According to NBS, the ICT sector comprises the four activities of Telecommunications and Information Services; Publishing; Motion Picture, Sound Recording, and Music Production; and Broadcasting.
Further analysis of the data showed that the sector in the third quarter of 2024 recorded a growth rate of 5.92 per cent in real terms, year-on-year, driven largely by activities in the telecommunications sub-sector, which contributed 13.94 per cent to the GDP in real terms.
According to NBS, the telecoms industry was the third-largest contributor to the real GDP in Q3 2024, coming behind only crop production and trade industries, which contributed 26.51 per cent and 14.78 per cent respectively.
The telecom industry, which is dominated by mobile network operators including MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9mobile, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), is also driving a lot of activities in every other sector of the economy.
The NBS data showed that the closest sub-sector to telecoms in the ICT sector in terms of contribution was Broadcasting, which added 1.37 per cent.
Further, the NBS revealed that the ICT sector contributed 11.30 per cent to the total nominal GDP in the third quarter of 2024, lower than the rate of 11.57 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2023 and lower than the 14.19 per cent it contributed in the preceding quarter.
In nominal terms, in the third quarter of 2024, the sector’s growth was recorded at 14.51 per cent (year-on-year), a 25.75 percentage-point decrease from the rate of 40.27 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2023, and 2.65 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in the preceding quarter.
In total, Nigeria’s GDP grew by 3.46 per cent year-on-year in real terms during the third quarter of 2024, marking a notable increase from the 2.54 per cent growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2023 and an improvement from the 3.19 per cent growth observed in the second quarter of 2024.
The growth in Q3 2024 was primarily driven by the Services sector, which expanded by 5.19 per cent and accounted for 53.58 per cent of the aggregate GDP. This underscores the sector’s growing importance in Nigeria’s economic landscape.
The Services sector played a dominant role in driving the economy, contributing a larger share of the aggregate GDP compared to the same quarter in 2023. Its 5.19 per cent growth highlights its resilience and capacity to spur overall economic performance.
The Agriculture sector recorded a modest growth of 1.14 per cent, slightly below the 1.30 per cent growth reported in Q3 2023.
The Industry sector posted a growth rate of 2.18 per cent, showing significant improvement from the 0.46 per cent recorded in Q3 2023.
