GDP

Abuja, Jan. 29, 2024: The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) says global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will experience slow growth from 2.7 per cent in 2023 to 2.4 per cent in 2024.

Mr Adam Elhiraika, Director, Macroeconomics and Governance Division of ECA, said this in a statement on the commission’s website on Sunday.

Elhiraika said this was contained in the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2024 report that the ECA inaugurated in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

According to him, growth is forecast to improve moderately to 2.7 per cent in 2025 but will remain below the pre-pandemic trend growth rate of 3.0 per cent.

Elhiraika explained that tight financial conditions, coupled with a growing risk of geopolitical fragmentation, posed increasing risks to global trade and industrial production.

He said: “while the world economy avoided the worst-case scenario of a recession in 2023, a protracted period of low growth looms large.

” Growth prospects for many developing countries, especially vulnerable and low-income countries, have remained weak, making a full recovery of pandemic losses ever more elusive.

“The global economic slowdown, tighter monetary and fiscal conditions, and high debt sustainability risks will remain a drag on the region’s growth prospects.

“The unfolding climate crisis and extreme weather events will undermine agricultural output and tourism, while geopolitical instability will continue to adversely impact several subregions in Africa, especially the Sahel and North Africa.”

According to him, the world economy proves more resilient than expected in 2023 amid significant monetary tightening and lingering policy uncertainties worldwide .

Elhiraika said this was even as multiple shocks from conflict and climate change, which had an effect on the lives and livelihoods of millions, further jeopardised progress toward sustainable development.

“The report indicates that developing countries face divergent near-term growth prospects.

“The economic growth in Africa is projected to remain weak, increasing from an average of 3.3 per cent in 2023 to 3.5 per cent in 2024.”

“The report says that after surging for two years, global inflation eased in 2023 but remained above the 2010-2019 average.

“Also, global headline inflation fell from 8.1 per cent in 2022, the highest value in almost three decades, to an estimated 5.7 per cent in 2023,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Hopestone Chavula, ECA’s Economic Affairs Officer who presented the report, said that while global inflation was ebbing, food price inflation could exacerbate food insecurity and poverty.

Chavula said that in addition to raising interest rates, the major developed country central banks started reducing the assets on their balance sheets, a process known as quantitative tightening, in 2022.

He said they accelerated the pace in 2023 to reduce excess liquidity. Adding that the higher borrowing costs would exacerbate debt sustainability risks for developing countries.

According to him, monetary tightening by these major developed country central banks will have significant spillover effects on developing countries.

“The report says the global investment trends will remain weak. Global investment growth is likely to remain subdued.

“Real gross fixed capital formation grew by an estimated 1.9 per cent in 2023, down from 3.3 per cent in 2022 and far below the average growth rate of 4.0 per cent during the period 2011- 2019.

“International trade is losing steam as a driver of growth. In 2023, global trade growth weakened significantly to an estimated 0.6 per cent, a sharp decline from 5.7 per cent in 2022.

” It is expected to recover to 2.4 per cent in 2024, remaining below the pre-pandemic trend of 3.2 per cent.

” This slowdown is attributed to a slump in merchandise trade. By contrast, trade-in services, particularly tourism and transport, continued to recover,” he said.

According to Chavula, central banks worldwide are expected to continue facing a delicate balancing act and difficult trade-offs in 2024 as they strive to manage inflation, revive growth, and ensure financial stability.

He said that central banks in developing economies would face the additional challenges of growing balance-of payments concerns and debt sustainability risks.

He, therefore, charged the banks to navigate a delicate balance between inflation, growth, and financial stability.

On fiscal space, Chavula said it was shrinking amid higher interest rates and tighter liquidity.

He said industrial policy, which was increasingly seen as crucial for fostering structural changes and supporting a green transition, was being revived and transformed.

” This shift is aimed at fixing market failures and aligning innovation with broader development goals. Innovation policies are also changing, with more ambitious, systemic, and strategic approaches being employed.

“On meeting the SDGs by 2030, the report indicates that strengthening multilateralism will accelerate SDGs progress.

“The world remains vulnerable to disruptive shocks, including a rapidly unfolding climate crisis and escalating conflicts.

“The urgency and imperative of achieving sustainable development underscore that strong global cooperation is needed now more than ever,” he quoted the report as saying.

Abuja, Nov. 22, 2023: The Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Ms Hannatu Musa Musawa, says the sector is set to expand the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to $100 billion by the year 2030.

Musawa stated this at the Art, Culture and Creative Economy Roundtable, tagged ‘A Creative Industry Intervention’, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The event was supported by the Office of the Vice President, Trembly, Providus Bank, Leadway Assurance Plc and other relevant stakeholders.

According to the minister, since she assumed office some months ago, she and her dedicated team have been working relentlessly on a multitude of initiatives across various work streams.

The Minister explains that their collective aim is singular, bold and to position Nigeria as the world’s culture, creativity and entertainment capital of the world.

“We have since moved beyond mere interventions; we are now on a trajectory of transformation and acceleration in every facet of our creative sector.

“The creative industries are the heartbeat of the new economy, serving as an engine of economic growth, a catalyst of change, and a generator of employment opportunities.

“We are uniquely positioned in this great nation, endowed with an abundance of human capital and boundless possibilities.

“Our transformation team has delved deep into the very fabric of this sector, understanding its dynamics, sizing up the opportunities it presents, and benchmarking against model countries and sectors.

“We have engaged extensively with many of you in this room, the driving forces behind our creative industries.

“Our objective is to contribute ten per cent to the Nation’s GDP expanding sectorial GDP to a remarkable $100 billion by the year 2030,” Musawa stressed.

She explained that the ministry was ready to share its vision for the creative sector, a vision that many have had a glimpsed in the summary of the ministry’s strategic blueprint published last month.

Musawa further explained that the vision of the new ministry is built upon five key pillars, including ‘Policy, Legislative, Regulatory and Intellectual Property Reforms’, ‘Cultural’ and ‘Economy’ plans.

“Others are ‘Private Sector Engagement’ and ‘Destination 2030, Nigeria Everywhere’, which created a brand that will unite us across all initiatives as both our overall strategic direction and our soft power initiative.

“Destination 2030, Nigeria Everywhere will promote our culture and showcase our creators to the world, establishing Nigeria as the leading global hub for arts, culture and creativity.

“We believe that Nigeria’s cultural influence should transcend borders, and we are committed to making it a reality.

“As we embark on this transformative journey together, let us remember that each one of you, with your creativity and passion, is an indispensable part of this narrative.

“Our collective efforts will not only make Nigeria the world’s creative capital but also enrich the lives of our people and inspire generations to come,” Musawa said.

The Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Digital Creative Economy,  Mr Fegho Umunubo, said Musawa has articulated a vibrant road map for the creative sector that would impact on all regions of the country.

“It is my hope that together with industry players, we will achieve a one billion dollar economy by 2030. The creative economy is gradually becoming the new oil.

“We are hopeful the achievements of the players in this industry would help reposition the image of this great country,” Umunubo said.

Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of Trembly, Mr Lawrence Ogungbe, said Nigeria’s creative industry is the most vibrant eco system in the world, adding that the world is yet to embrace all we have.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Providus Bank, Mr Walter Akpani, suggested that the $100 billion mark should be increased to $200 billion.

The dignitaries at the event included the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr Simon Lalong; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu; officials from the office of the Vice President, industry players and other stakeholders from the art and culture industry.

Marrakesh (Morocco), Oct. 16, 2023: The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),  Mr Yemi Cardoso, says the economic policy proposals of President Bola Tinubu’s administration can achieve a GDP of one trillion Naira in eight years.

Cardoso made the declaration in Marrakesh, Western Morocco on Thursday on the side-line of the on-going 2023 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings.

He said efforts were on-going to refocus the CBN for overall economic growth, adding that government would identify fiscal reforms and growth targets that would achieve the feat within eight years.

He said that in a study of emerging markets, macro-economic indices pointed to Nigeria’s economic trajectory, given the faithful implementation of the proposed economic reforms.

He explained that the study followed a review of economies like Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) and Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey (MINT), countries, with similar populations and developmental characteristics as Nigeria.

“In economies bigger than 1.0 trillion dollars, these indicators include moderate inflation, sizable foreign reserves, and the capacity to quickly rebound from a cyclical economic downturn.

“Given this, a refocused CBN will better serve Nigeria through monetary policy interventions and advisory roles that sustain implementation of the administration’s fiscal proposals,’’ Cardoso said.

He said also that the lines between monetary policy and fiscal intervention should be clearly delineated, and the CBN needed to be pulled back from its development financing initiatives to more advisory roles.

“Much had been made of past CBN forays into development financing, such that the lines between monetary policy and fiscal intervention have blurred.

“In refocusing the CBN to its core mandate, there is a need to pull it back from direct development finance interventions into more limited advisory roles that support economic growth.

“The bank should act as catalyst in the propagation of specialised institutions and financial products that support emerging sectors of the economy.

“It should facilitate new regulatory frameworks to unlock dormant capital in land and property holdings,’’ he said.

Cardoso listed other roles of the CBN to include accelerating access to consumer credit and expansion of financial inclusion for the masses.

He added that the bank should de-risk instrumentation to increase private sector investment in housing, textiles and clothing, food supply chain, healthcare, and educational supplies.

It should exercise its convening power to bring key multilateral and international stakeholder together for participation in government and private sector initiatives, he said.

Cardoso admitted that the CBN did not have a magic wand that could be waved at Nigeria’s current economic challenges as the problems facing the bank were large and complex.

He listed the challenges to include failure in corporate governance, unorthodox monetary policies and foreign currency management, unorthodox use of Ways and Means spending and backlog of FX demand.

“The bank has to establish how much of the FX backlog is real and how much is given to speculation or hoarding.

“It has to identify creative financing options for clearing the short to medium term backlog.

“These problems need in-depth review by the new CBN leadership team to determine what mechanisms are currently working, what can be tweaked or dispensed with, and what new tools needed to be introduced.

“It has to examine how issues of governance could be addressed,’’ he said.

Cardoso stressed that with focused leadership and sustained reforms, however, “it is expected that over time, Nigeria will see gains and the opening of economic spaces.

“The country will also attract new investments, create employment, and give its hardworking and talented people the opportunity for a more prosperous future.’’

The CBN governor also expressed President Tinubu’s commitment to urgently clean up the CBN and its monetary policies.

“As a first step, Mr President’s appointment of a special investigator into the affairs of the CBN went underway recently.

“Further to the clean-up exercise, the president brought in a new leadership to the helm of affairs at the CBN,’’ Cardodo said.

Abuja, Sept. 5, 2023: Some stakeholders have reiterated the need for the financial sector to make deliberate effort towards increasing its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

They spoke during the16th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

The theme of the Conference is “Nigeria’s Economic Growth and Empowerment: The Role of the Financial Services Industry”.

The event is the largest gathering of banking and finance professionals in Africa.

It is a platform for the stakeholders in the banking and finance ecosystem to come together to drive conversation on topical issues critical to the growth and stability of the country.

This is with a view to providing insightful solutions that will impact the entire system and the economy at large.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu challenged the financial sector to move from 3.6 to about nine per cent growth of GDP.

According to Bagudu, this is possible as the financial sector is indeed well placed to contribute to economic growth.

The minister acknowledged the role of the institute , adding, “every stakeholder had a role to play to drive the sector and the nation’s economy.”

He reiterated the present administration’s commitment to ensure its renewed hope agenda for Nigerians was achieved.

Bagudu said: “The reforms are intended, among others, to give the private sector all the necessary confidence to mobilise and invest more resources in the economy.

“We appreciate the contribution of the financial sector but expect more.

“We appreciate that the challenges we are experiencing are those that other countries have experienced and surpassed.

“We are in no doubt that the vision and boldness of our leaders, the renewed hope agenda will be pursued with vigor and Nigeria will have positive remarkable growth in the years ahead.”

For his part, the acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Folashodun Shonubi, said the sector’s economic contribution to the nation was low and needed improvement.

“Can we promise them that instead of 3.6 per cent, we will be contributing a lot more than that. And we will sit down and find what the drivers are that we can influence and do.

“I dont want to put a number in front of us but it is what I will like to see at the end of the conference.

“I don’t think we contribute a lot of ourselves , we as bankers need to be more conscious,  a bit more active on advocacies that are actionable,”Shonubi said.

Similarly, the Chairman, Body of Banks’ CEOs, Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, urged for a deliberate effort by the stakeholders towards growing the country’s economy.

On balance of payment, he said: “We are importing more than we are exporting and to change the narrative, we need to grow what we consume and export what we consume.

“We have enormous potential, the biggest potential we have is in our market. Our market is depleted by the number of people we have.

“The time has come for our growth to focus on effectively realising the huge potential of our endowment.

“It is imperative therefore for us to encourage growth in our endeavours. Banks also have to be deliberate, determined to execute the mandate of growth in our economy,”Onyeagwu said.

The chairman, who is also the Group Managing Director, Zenith Bank , said his bank had in the last five years come up with an initiative called ‘SME Grow My Business.’

Onyeagwu said: “It is a platform we created to focus on SMEs. It provides an opportunity for us to incubate and nature SMEs and teach them the rudiments of business,” he said.

He urged for more deliberate programmes to support the SMEs as they will help generate employment and also be listed in the capital market, among other advantages.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Sen. Osita Izunaso, pledged the continued support of the National Assembly to CIBN and the country’s financial sector.

Izunaso said: “The challenges before us are enormous, so are the opportunities and to harness these potential requires the collective effort of all stakeholders.”

He urged the participants to remember their responsibilities in ensuring support to the government to address present economic challenges.

The lawmaker decried the non-listing of companies enjoying Nigeria patronage in the country’s  capital market, saying,”our national economic growth depends on the financial services.”

According to the President of CIBN,  Ken Opara, the theme of the event is very apt as it resonates with the context of our current realities in the country.

 “It amplifies the fact that agenda setting for the country must be a continuous exercise, especially now that we have a new government in place.

“The topic also resonates with the current administration’s reforms agenda,”he added.

Opara expressed hope that the reforms, if followed through, would not only unlock the full potentials of the economy but place the nation on a recovery trajectory to drive the prosperity of the continent.

The President said that CIBN would continue to be a vanguard for capacity and skills development in the financial services industry.

He also called for more collaboration  of the critical stakeholders to drive the sector.

The conference was attended  by CEOs of banks, financial institutions’ representatives , stakeholders and partners in the financial sector.

Abuja, Aug. 12, 2013:Some stakeholders have commended President Bola Tinubu for the recently inaugurated Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, chaired by Mr Taiwo Oyedele.

They made the commendation on Friday in Abuja.

Tinubu had on Monday inaugurated the committee comprises experts from both the private and public sectors and will be responsible for various aspects of tax law reforms, fiscal policy design and coordination, harmonization of taxes, and revenue administration.

An economist, Dr Tope Fasua, commended the president for taking steps to introduce needed changes in Nigeria’s tax reform.

He said that it was good for the government to optimise revenue generation to cut down on borrowings.

Fasua advised that every state should take concrete steps to improve revenue generation for the economy to grow sustainably.

He urged the private sector to always cooperate with the government in its revenue drive rather than antagonise such initiatives.

“The private sector kicks anytime government proposes a tax increase, no matter how insignificant. It has turned itself into an enemy of government,” he said.

According to him, the Nigerian government will also need to get its expenditure priorities right.

“We have a debt problem, we have a revenue problem and we have an expenditure problem.

“Although debt-to-GDP ratio is not high compared to other countries, Nigeria needs to start spending wisely and generating more revenues,” he said.

Dr Ayo Abina, the chairman of AACS, an international consulting and investment company, said rather than continued borrowing, Nigeria could generate enough to fund government’s expenditure.

“Nigeria can earn additional 53 billion dollars by raising the tax-to-GDP ratio to 15 per cent without raising taxes, and save four billion dollars by tackling oil theft”, he said in a publication.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also waded in, urging the Federal Government to take steps to increase the country’s revenue base.

A research organisation, Pol Eco Analytics, commended the president for taking steps to introduce needed changes in Nigeria’s tax reform.

A statement by the senior researcher, Pol Eco Analytics, Mr Adefolarin Olamilekan, said the committee would find a lasting solution to the excesses of more than 62 government agencies.

Olamilekan said that it would also resolve confusion over MDAs’ mandates on tax remittance to government.

“This is a patriotic policy stand Nigerians must commend.

“This is a laudable move to tackle problems of disarticulated tax regime, and official negligence that worsened the case of tax evasion and non-compliance in Nigeria,” he said.

Ari Aisen, Resident Representative, IMF Nigeria Office, during a recent virtual forum on the Nigerian debt situation, advised the government to drastically reduce dependence on borrowing to fund expenditure.

According to Aisen, to resolve the debt issues of Nigeria, the country needs to concentrate on its revenue and expenditure.

He said that the debt situation had deteriorated because the Federal Government spent more than it was actually getting in revenues.

“How do you reduce the spending needs of the government? That should be the question.

“It is really about fiscal discipline. People should not permanently spend beyond what they generate in revenue because it becomes unsustainable,” he said.

Aisen said that the critical thing to do was for countries to rely more on their own revenue to finance their own expenditure.

“That is the autonomy and the independence that we would like to see our member countries rely on,” he said.

Vahyala Kwaga, an analyst at BudgIT, a Nigerian company that provides social advocacy using technology, urged Nigerians to also beam their searchlights on the state governors and their fiscal behaviour.

“The federal system allows the centre to provide monies for the states.

“The question is, how prudent are these monies expended when they are given to the states?

“The transparency and accountability problem we have in the use of funds is extremely problematic at the level of the states,” he said.

As the Federal government takes steps to boost the country’s revenue base through tax and other fiscal reforms, Nigerians expect that borrowing will soon cease to be a primary source of funding for the country’s budgets.

Nigeria’s public debt stock as at Dec. 31, 2022 stood at N46.25 trillion equivalent to (103.11 billion dollars).

According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), the public debt stock of the country consists of the domestic and external debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the sub-national governments.

The DMO, which is the Federal Government’s agency established to coordinate the management of national debts also recognised the dire need for government to reduce its dependence on borrowing by generating more revenues.

Its Director-General, Patience Oniha said Nigeria had operated deficit budgets for many decades, which made borrowing from local and external sources imperative.

“The financing of the deficits through borrowing from local and external sources is the principal reason for the growth in debt stock and debt servicing.

“One way to reduce budget deficits is to grow revenues, the other way is to prioritise expenditure and cut waste and leakages.

“How much revenue is Nigeria generating? Statistics show that relative to other countries, Nigeria’s revenue generation is low.

“The World Bank Economic Outlook for 2020 showed that Nigeria, with a revenue-to-GDP ratio of 6.3 per cent, was ranked 194 out of 196 countries covered,’’ she said.

She said that a strong revenue base would reduce the need for relatively large amounts of new borrowing, and will also reduce the debt service to revenue ratio.

“Revenue generation is the way to go and that is how countries develop and use borrowing to augment revenue shortfalls now and again.

“Nigeria has been running budget deficits for decades, it is about time to shift to balanced budget and even budgets surplus,’’ she said.

According to her, among reasons for the increase in total public debt stock is new borrowing by the Federal Government and sub-national governments, primarily to finance budget deficits and execute projects.

“The issuance of promissory notes by the Federal Government to settle some liabilities also contributed to growth in the debt stock,” she said.

The cash scarcity caused by the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria has pushed Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product growth below global projections of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank.

The World Bank said that the Nigerian economy would grow by 2.8 per cent in 2023, down from 3.3 per cent in 2022, in its Africa Pulse Report April 2023 edition titled ‘Leveraging resource wealth during the low carbon transition.’

In its World Economic Outlook for April 2023 titled ‘A Rocky Recovery’, the International Monetary Fund retained its growth forecast of 3.2 per cent for Nigeria’s economy in 2023.

The African Development Bank in January projected that Nigeria’s GDP, which indicates the economic growth rate, would inch up to 3.1 per cent in 2023, adding that uncertainty about policy continuity after the election and rising insecurity will weaken the nation’s growth prospect during the year.

However, Nigeria’s GDP growth fell to 2.31 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 from 3.52 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The NBS attributed the decline to the adverse effects of the cash crunch experienced during the quarter.

The report read in part, “Gross Domestic Product grew by 2.31 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the first quarter of 2023. This growth rate declined from 3.11 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2022, and 3.52 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022. The reduction in growth is attributed to the adverse effects of the cash crunch experienced during the quarter.”

The decline is also slightly below a recent projection by KPMG that Nigeria’s GDP will grow at a relatively slow pace of 3 per cent in 2023 due to challenges associated with the naira redesign and political transition.

A statement after the March’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting this year, Mike Obadan, a professor of Economics and a member of the MPC, said the observed improvement from Q3 to Q4 in 2022 is not likely to be sustained in Q1 2023 due to the sustained rise in inflation, strong monetary tightening, high energy prices, subsisting insecurity and foreign exchange market pressures, challenges of the Naira redesign policy and the unintended consequences which have adversely affected domestic consumption, trade, investment and output.

“In light of these, the growth rate may fall below 3.0 per cent in Q1 2023,” he said.

The NBS also disclosed that the performance of the GDP in Q1 2023 was driven mainly by the services sector, which recorded a growth of 4.35 per cent and contributed 57.29 per cent to the aggregate GDP.

A senior lecturer at Lagos Business School, Prof Bongo Adi, said the electioneering season played a huge contributory role in the Q1 GDP decline.

According to him, the uncertainty that pervaded the period led to a partial hibernation of the productive sector.

He added, “The reason for the decline is not hard to tell. What we are looking at is the fallout of the 2023 elections. Let’s not forget all the strange policies that the CBN started to unleash which strangled businesses.”

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.52 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022 on a year-on-year basis.

The NBS said this in the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report Q4 2022 released in Abuja on Friday.

According to the report, this followed a growth of 2.25 per cent in the third quarter of 2022 and 3.98 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The report said the performance of the GDP in the fourth quarter of 2022 was driven mainly by the services sector, which recorded a growth of 5.69 per cent and contributed 56.27 per cent to the aggregate GDP.

It said although the agriculture sector grew by 2.05 per cent in the fourth quarter, its performance was significantly hampered by severe incidences of flood experienced across the country.

“This accounted for lesser growth relative to the fourth quarter of 2021 which was 3.58 per cent.’’

The report, however, said the Industry sector was yet challenged recording -0.94 per cent growth and contributing less to the aggregate GDP relative to Q3 2022 and Q4 2021.

It said overall, the annual GDP growth rate in 2022 stood at 3.10 per cent, from the 3.40 per cent reported in 2021.

“Thus, the performance of agriculture and industry reduced in 2022 relative to 2021, while the performance of the services sector improved in 2022.’’

The report said in Q4 of 2022, aggregate GDP stood at N56, 757,889.95 million in nominal terms

“This performance is higher when compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 which recorded aggregate GDP of N49,276,018.23 million, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth of 15.18 per cent.’’

A breakdown by sector showed that crude oil production in the fourth quarter of 2022 recorded an average daily oil production of 1.34 million barrels per day (mbpd).

“This was higher than the third quarter of 2022 production volume of 1.20mbpd by 0.14mbpd.’’

The NBS said the oil sector contributed 4.34 per cent to the total real GDP in Q4 2022.

The report said this showed a decrease from the figures recorded in Q4 2021 and Q3 2022, where it contributed 5.19 per cent and 5.66 per cent.

It said the total annual contribution of oil to aggregate GDP in 2022 was 5.67 per cent.

The NBS said the non-oil sector grew by 4.44 per cent in real terms during the reference quarter (Q4 2022).

The report said the non-oil sector in Q4 2022 was mainly driven by activities in Information and Communication (Telecommunication), Trade, and Agriculture (Crop Production).

“Others are Financial and Insurance (Financial Institutions), Manufacturing (Food, Beverage and Tobacco), Real Estate and Construction, all accounting for positive GDP growth.’’

It said in real terms, the non-oil sector contributed 95.66 per cent to the nation’s GDP in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The NBS said this was higher than the share recorded in Q4 2021 which was 94.81 per cent and higher than Q3 2022 recorded at 94.34 per cent.