Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 1.87% in the first quarter of 2020, this is according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The National Bureau of Statistics revealed in ‘Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product’ report for first quarter 2020 on Monday. The Bureau noted that there were earliest signs of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This performance was recorded against the backdrop of significant global disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 public health crisis, a sharp fall in oil prices and restricted international trade,” the report read.
“The performance recorded in Q1 2020 represents a drop of –0.23% points compared to Q1 2019 and –0.68% points compared to Q4 2019, reflecting the earliest effects of the disruption, particularly on the non-oil economy.
“Quarter on quarter, real GDP growth was –14.27% compared to 5.59% recorded in the preceding quarter.
“In real terms, the non-oil sector grew by 1.55%, slower by –0.93% points compared to the rate recorded during the same quarter of 2019, and –0.72% points slower than the fourth quarter of 2019.”
The non-oil sector was reported to have contributed 90.50% to the nation’s GDP in the first quarter of 2020, less than its share in the first quarter of 2019 which was 90.78% and the fourth quarter of 2019 recorded as 92.68%.
The non-oil sector was driven mainly by information and communication (telecommunications), financial and insurance (financial institutions), agriculture (crop production), mining and quarrying (crude petroleum & natural gas), and construction.
This means that the oil sector contributed 9.50 per cent to aggregate real GDP in Q1 2020, up from figures recorded in the corresponding period of 2019 and the preceding quarter.
 expanded by 1.87% in the first quarter of 2020, this is according to the National Bureau of Statistics.){kind=link}