Services, Agriculture Lead as Nigeria’s GDP Grows by 3.98 Per Cent
- Nigeria recorded 3.98% GDP growth in Q3 2025, down from 4.23% in the previous quarter
- Agriculture, industry, and services all expanded, with services contributing the most to GDP
- The non-oil sector grew by 3.91%, continuing its steady contribution to economic activity
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Oluwatobi Odeyinka is a business editor at Legit.ng, covering energy, the money market, tech and macroeconomic trends in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.98% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Services remained the largest contributor to the economy, accounting for 53.02% of GDP. It is followed by the Agriculture sector with 31.21% contribution, and Industry at 15.77% contribution.
In its latest GDP report, the NBS noted that the quarterly trend shows continued fluctuations in economic performance over the past year. The figure reflects a slight slowdown from the 4.23% growth recorded in the previous quarter.
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Growth had reached 3.86% in Q3 2024 but declined to 3.76% in Q4 2024 and further to 3.13% in Q1 2025 before rebounding in Q2 2025.
The data released by the bureau shows that the 3.98% growth rate recorded in Q3 2025 is higher than the 3.86% recorded in the same period of 2024.
According to the report, agriculture grew by 3.79%, improving from 2.55% in Q3 2024. The industry sector recorded 3.77% growth, up from 2.78% a year earlier. However, the services sector expanded by 4.15%, slightly lower than the 4.97% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024.
Oil sector growth decline
Oil sector growth stood at 5.84% year-on-year, marginally higher than the 5.66% recorded in Q3 2024. However, the bureau stated that growth in the sector declined significantly compared to the 20.46% recorded in the previous quarter.
The oil sector contributed 3.44% to real GDP, slightly up from 3.38% in Q3 2024 but lower than the 4.05% contribution in Q2 2025.
The NBS also reported an average daily oil production of 1.64 million barrels per day (mbpd) in Q3 2025. This marks an increase from the 1.47 mbpd recorded in Q3 2024 but a slight decline compared to the 1.68 mbpd reported in Q2 2025.
Meanwhile, the non-oil sector grew by 3.91% in real terms during Q3 2025, reflecting continued expansion across various non-oil industries.
Source: Getty Images
Top 10 Contributing Activities to Real GDP in Q3 2025
- Crop Production (23.06%)
- Trade (16.42%)
- Real Estate (13.36%)
- Telecommunications & Information Services (7.67%)
- Livestock (6.18%)
- Construction (3.80%)
- Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas (3.44%)
- Food, Beverage and Tobacco (2.58%)
- Public Administration (2.56%)
- Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (2.37%)
The Central Bank of Nigeria earlier said in spite of the progress achieved through economic reforms initiated under the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, “more work needed to be done to improve macroeconomic fundamentals and the standard of living for Nigerians.”
Prices of stable foods drop
Legit.ng earlier reported that there was a slight decline in the prices of major food items such as beans, garri, maize, and tomatoes in September 2025, as NBS’s Selected Good Price Watch data revealed.
Month-on-month data indicated mild reductions across most items despite the annual variations, although rice and beef showed year-on-year increases.
The report also highlighted significant price differences across states, with Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, and others recording the highest prices for several staples, while Taraba, Yobe, Plateau, and Lagos recorded the lowest prices in some food items.
Source: Legit.ng
