Nigeria’s GDP Hits 4.43% in Q2 2026 as Agriculture, Services Boost Growth

Nigeria’s economy expanded by 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, recording a slight improvement from the 4.23 per cent growth achieved in the same period last year.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its latest GDP report, said the performance reflected stronger activity in agriculture and services, although industrial growth weakened during the period.

The 4.43 per cent growth represents a 0.20 percentage-point increase over the 4.23 per cent recorded in Q2 2025.

Agriculture Records Stronger Performance

Agriculture recorded one of the biggest improvements during the quarter, growing by 4.39 per cent in real terms.

The sector had expanded by 2.82 per cent in Q2 2025 and 3.15 per cent in Q1 2026.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, agriculture grew by 17.80 per cent and contributed 26.15 per cent to real GDP.

Although its contribution was slightly below the 26.17 per cent recorded in Q2 2025, it was significantly higher than the 23.16 per cent contribution recorded in Q1 2026.

Services Remain Major Growth Driver

The services sector maintained its position as the fastest-growing of the three major sectors.

It grew by 4.60 per cent year-on-year in Q2 2026, compared with 3.94 per cent in Q2 2025.

The industrial sector, however, recorded a notable slowdown, growing by 3.96 per cent compared with 7.46 per cent in Q2 2025.

Nominal GDP Rises to N119.29tn

Nigeria’s GDP rose sharply in nominal terms during the quarter.

The NBS put nominal GDP at N119.29 trillion in Q2 2026, compared with N100.73 trillion in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

This represents an 18.43 per cent year-on-year increase, driven by the combination of real economic growth and changes in prices.

The non-oil economy remained the dominant contributor to overall economic activity.

The sector recorded real growth of 4.31 per cent year-on-year, compared with 3.64 per cent in Q2 2025 and 3.94 per cent in Q1 2026.

Crude Oil Output Improves

Nigeria also recorded an increase in average daily crude oil production during the quarter.

Production rose to 1.72 million barrels per day from 1.68 million barrels per day in Q2 2025 and 1.55 million barrels per day in Q1 2026.

The oil sector grew by 7.31 per cent year-on-year in real terms.

However, the figure was substantially lower than the 20.46 per cent growth recorded in Q2 2025.

It nevertheless represented an improvement over the 2.57 per cent growth recorded in Q1 2026.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector grew by 10.91 per cent.

Oil’s contribution to real GDP also increased to 4.16 per cent, compared with 4.05 per cent in Q2 2025 and 3.92 per cent in Q1 2026.

Agriculture, ICT, Trade Drive Expansion

The statistics agency said the overall growth was driven mainly by agriculture, information and communication, real estate, trade, financial and insurance services, manufacturing and construction.

The latest performance comes against the backdrop of differing projections by international institutions.

The World Bank had raised its 2026 growth forecast for Nigeria to 4.4 per cent from an earlier 3.7 per cent estimate.

The International Monetary Fund, however, revised its 2026 projection downward to 4.1 per cent from 4.4 per cent, citing mounting global and domestic pressures.

Moody’s has also recently revised Nigeria’s sovereign outlook from “stable” to “positive”, citing improvements in foreign exchange reserves and better-than-expected economic growth.

The Q2 figures indicate that Nigeria’s economy is maintaining its growth trajectory, but the sharp slowdown in industrial growth remains a concern as the country seeks broader and more sustainable economic expansion.