Nigeria's economy grows steadily as oil output rises
Reuters
Published Feb 22, 2024 07:25AM ET
Updated Feb 22, 2024 09:01AM ET
By Elisha Bala-Gbogbo
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's economy grew 3.46% in the fourth quarter, a similar pace as it did a year earlier, data showed on Thursday, as oil output picked up and government reforms to boost growth began to take effect.
Gross domestic product grew quicker than in the two previous quarters of 2023. GDP grew 2.54% in the third quarter and 2.51% in the second.
Growth in the final quarter of 2022 was 3.52% in annual terms.
The pickup in growth came as reforms instituted by President Bola Tinubu, who pledged during his inauguration in May to expand the economy by at least 6% annually, began to take effect.
Tinubu made bold changes including ending a costly fuel subsidy and devaluing the country's naira currency twice in less than a year to try to lift sluggish growth.
But these reforms have stoked price pressures, sending inflation to almost 30% in January, its the highest in nearly three decades.
President Tinubu said during a November budget speech that the economy was expected to grow by at least 3.76% in 2024.
The National Bureau of Statistics said full-year growth for 2023 stood at 2.74%.
"The performance of the GDP in the fourth quarter of 2023 was driven mainly by the services sector, which recorded a growth of 3.98% and contributed 56.55% to the aggregate GDP," the statistics office said.
Growth in the agriculture and industrial sectors, which create jobs, improved marginally during the period, compared with a year ago, the data showed.
Average daily oil output rose to 1.55 million barrels per day, up from 1.34 million a year ago.
Nigeria relies on oil production for about two-thirds of government earnings and 90% of its foreign exchange income.
"The real growth of the oil sector was 12.11% year-on-year in Q4 2023, indicating an increase of 25.5% points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022 at -13.38%," said the statistics office.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.