Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveals Nigeria recorded a 1.92% Real GDP Growth for the 4th quarter of 2017 compared to 1.40% in the 3rd quarter of 2017 and a contraction of -1.73% in 4th quarter of 2016.
The NBS also reported that Nigeria’s annual GDP Growth rate (Q1-Q4 2017) was 0.82% compared to a contraction of -1.58% in 2016. This by all accounts is a significant improvement from a disastrous 2017 where the economy first went into a recession.
Whilst the latest GDP growth rate is still paltry considering that an economy like Nigeria should be growing much faster, we did see items in the result that we consider sweet. Let’s look at a few;
This has been one sector that has suffered greatly from the fall in oil prices and the ensuing recession. The sector returned to growth in the 4th quarter of 2017, posting an impressive 4.14% growth. The construction sector fell into a double dip recession in the third quarter of 2017, after eking out growths in the first and second. However, the 4.14% growth was so good, the sector closed 2017 positively at 1%.
This was another sweet story for us. After going through about 6 quarters of negative GDP growth rate and 3 cycles of recession, the sector eventually growth in the 4th quarter. The sector grew positive for the first time since Q1 2016 by 0.10% in Q4 2017 compared to contractions of -2.66% in Q3 2017 and -1.52% in Q4 2016
The sweetest spot however was the overall growth in non-oil GDP. According to the report, Non Oil GDP grew by 1.45% in Q4 2017(strongest growth since 2015) compared to a contraction of -0.76 in Q3 2017 and -0.33% in Q4 2016. This is a huge sigh of relief considering that non-oil GDP makes up about 91% of GDP. With non-oil GDP now back to growth, we expect the country’s economic growth to move faster than it currently is. The presidency also identified the significance of this growth with the Vice President noted how important it is the economy.
“The other notable element of the data is that the non-oil sector experienced a strong growth of 1.45% in Q4 2017 as compared to a contraction in the previous quarter and the whole of 2016. This showing, the strongest since 2015, points to steady improvements across the economy. Also noteworthy in this regard were strong quarterly growth in crop production, crude oil production, metal ores, construction, transportation, trade, electricity and gas production.”