By Abdullahi Lukman
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has rebased Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 2019, revealing a substantial increase in the size of the economy and a clearer picture of its evolving structure.
This rebasing exercise, a global best practice, shows a 41.7% increase in nominal GDP estimates compared to the previous 2010 base year.
The nominal GDP for 2019 now stands at N205.09 trillion, rising to N372.82 trillion in 2024.
This significant revision highlights the emergence of new economic activities and the growing importance of various sectors.
The rebasing reveals shifts in sectoral contributions to the GDP. Services remain the largest contributor, accounting for 53.09% in 2019.
Agriculture follows at 25.83%, with Industries contributing 21.08%. Among specific economic activities, crop production emerged as the highest contributor at 17.58%, closely followed by trade (17.42%).
Notably, real estate has climbed to the third position at 10.78%, surpassing crude petroleum and natural gas, which now stands at 5.85%.
This indicates improved coverage of informal economic activities.
Despite a contraction of -6.96% in 2020, real GDP growth improved to 0.95% in 2021.
Higher growth rates were recorded in 2022 and 2023, at 4.32% and 3.04% respectively, with 2024 seeing a growth rate of 3.38%.
The rebasing to 2019 was undertaken to accurately reflect the country’s economic transformation, including the emergence of new industries, technological advancements, and shifts in consumption and production patterns.
The previous rebasing was in 2014, using a 2010 base year. The comprehensive process involved extensive data collection, including surveys of households and businesses, and the development of a new Supply and Use Table with 217 products across 46 economic activities.
The exercise also incorporated previously underrepresented sectors such as digital economic activities, informal economic activities, creative industries, and fintech.
The NBS collaborated with international partners like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to ensure adherence to global best practices.
Following the rebasing, the GDP for the first quarter of 2025 showed a 3.13% year-on-year growth in real terms, an increase from 2.27% in Q1 2024.
This growth was primarily driven by the Services sector, which grew by 4.33% and contributed 57.50% to the aggregate GDP.
The agriculture sector saw a modest growth of 0.07%, a significant improvement from the -1.79% recorded in Q1 2024, while the industry sector grew by 3.42%.
The NBS reaffirms its commitment to transparency and data integrity, with detailed methodological notes and reports available on its website.
