Nigeria’s Economy Expands by 4.43% as Agriculture, Services Drive Strong Q2 Growth

Nigeria's economy recorded stronger growth in the second quarter of 2026, with the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanding by 4.43 per cent year-on-year, driven largely by improved performance in agriculture, services and non-oil sectors.

The latest GDP report released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the growth rate surpassed the 4.23 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, signaling continued resilience across key sectors of the economy.

According to the report, the agriculture sector posted a growth rate of 4.39 per cent during the quarter, a significant improvement from the 2.82 per cent recorded in the same period last year. The services sector also strengthened its performance, growing by 4.60 per cent compared to 3.94 per cent in Q2 2025.

The sector remained the largest contributor to economic activity, accounting for 56.62 per cent of real GDP, slightly higher than the 56.53 per cent contribution recorded a year earlier.

In contrast, growth in the industrial sector slowed to 3.96 per cent from 7.46 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2025, reflecting weaker momentum despite overall economic expansion.

The report further revealed that Nigeria's economy was valued at N119.29 trillion in nominal terms during the quarter, representing an 18.43 per cent increase from the N100.73 trillion recorded in the same period of 2025.

Crude oil production also improved during the period, with average daily output rising 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 the first quarter of 2026.

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Despite higher production levels, the oil sector's growth moderated. The NBS reported that the sector grew by 7.31 per cent year-on-year in real terms, lower than the 20.46 per cent growth recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

However, the sector showed notable improvement compared to the preceding quarter, growing by 4.74 percentage points from the 2.57 per cent recorded in Q1 2026. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, oil sector growth stood at 10.91 per cent.

The oil sector's contribution to total real GDP also edged higher, accounting for 4.16 per cent of economic output during the quarter, compared to 4.05 per cent in Q2 2025 and 3.92 per cent in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the non-oil sector continued to drive economic expansion, recording a real growth rate of 4.31 per cent, up from 3.64 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2025 and 3.94 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.

According to the NBS, growth in the non-oil economy was supported by strong performances in crop production, telecommunications, real estate, trade, financial institutions, cement manufacturing and construction activities.

The bureau noted that the non-oil sector accounted for 95.84 per cent of Nigeria's real GDP in Q2 2026, underscoring its dominant role in the economy despite a slight decline from the 95.95 per cent recorded in the same quarter last year.

The latest figures suggest that while oil production continues to recover, Nigeria's economic growth is increasingly being sustained by broader activity across agriculture, services and other non-oil sectors.