Nigeria's GDP Grows By 3.89% In Q1 2026, 10 Sectors Lead
- The Nigerian economy grew in the first quarter of 2026, latest data from the NBS has shown
- The growth was driven by agriculture, industry, and services, with the services sector remaining the largest contributor to GDP
- Oil production fell to 1.55mbpd, according to the data, while the non-oil sector expanded by 3.94%
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has released the latest GDP data, which showed that Nigeria's economy grew at its quickest pace in 10 years.
According to the NBS report, real GDP growth in Nigeria increased to 3.89% year-on-year in Q1 2026, from 3.13% recorded in Q1 2025.
Source: Getty Images
The NBS stated this in its latest Quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report published on Monday, May 25, 2026.
Snapshot of Nigeria's latest GDP
The growth was supported by the expansion of the service sector, agriculture, and most key non-oil sectors of the economy.
The agriculture sector recorded a real growth of 3.15% in Q1 2026 from 0.07% in Q1 2025, while the industry sector grew by 3.50% from 3.42% in the same period of 2025. Also, the services sector expanded by 4.31% compared to 4.33% recorded in Q1 2025.
NBS said that the services sector dominated the aggregate GDP and contributed 57.73% to the economy, from 57.50% in Q1 2025.
The NBS reported:
"The total aggregate GDP at basic price stood at N110,786,347.01 million in the quarter under review. Performance at basic prices stood higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2025 of N94,051,733.20 million, indicating year-on-year growth of 17.79% in nominal terms."
Nigeria's GDP: Oil production declines, but sector records growth
NBS noted that oil output at 1.55 million barrels per day recorded in Q1 2026 was below that of Q1 2025, which was at 1.62 million barrels per day, and Q4 2025, which recorded 1.58 million barrels per day.
However, the real GDP of the oil sector was at 2.57% year-on-year in Q1 2026 from 1.87% in the previous year. Growth, however, decreased compared to 6.79% recorded in Q4 2025.
The oil sector contributed 3.92% to total real GDP in Q1 2026 against 3.97% recorded in the prior period.
Non-oil sector dominated Nigeria GDP's growth drivers
The non-oil sector grew at 3.94% in real terms from 3.19% in the prior year, although it was lower than the 3.99% recorded in Q4 2025.
The non-oil sector was dominated by the services of telecommunications, crop production, trade, cement, financial institutions, real estate, construction and road transport.
The non-oil sector accounted for 96.08% of total GDP in Nigeria in Q1 2026 compared to 96.03% in the prior year.
Source: Twitter
Top 10 contributing activities to real GDP in Q1 2026 (%)
- Trade : 17.89%
- Crop Production : 17.38%
- Real Estate : 13.10%
- Telecommunications & Information Services : 9.19%
- Construction : 4.85%
- Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas : 3.92%
- Food, Beverage and Tobacco : 3.48%
- Financial Institutions : 3.41%
- Livestock : 3.08%
- Professional, Scientific & Technical Services : 2.44%
US, Iran move to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that petrol prices in Nigeria could fall in the coming weeks over expectations that the Strait of Hormuz may reopen as diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran move forward.
Already, the international benchmark for crude oil price Brent dropped by 5.19% to $98.17 per barrel on Monday, May 25, with West Texas Intermediate down 5.54% to $91.25.
Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
