Nigeria's economy demonstrated a robust expansion in the first quarter of 2026, with real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growing by 3.89% year-on-year. This figure represents an acceleration from the 3.13% growth observed in the first quarter of 2025, indicating a sustained recovery momentum driven primarily by the non-oil sector.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the services sector continued its dominance, contributing 57.73% to the aggregate GDP. This sector experienced a slight growth of 4.31%, marginally down from 4.33% in the same period last year. Key sub-sectors within services that fueled this growth include telecommunications, financial services, construction, and trade activities.
Agriculture also showed a significant rebound, with a real growth rate of 3.15% in Q1 2026, a substantial increase from the 0.07% recorded in Q1 2025. This resurgence in agriculture, alongside improvements in industry and services, underscored the diversification of economic drivers.
Despite the overall positive economic performance, crude oil production saw a decline. The nation recorded an average daily oil production of 1.55 million barrels per day (mbpd) in Q1 2026, which is lower than the 1.62 mbpd in Q1 2025 and the 1.58 mbpd in Q4 2025. Nevertheless, the oil sector itself registered a real growth of 2.57% year-on-year, an improvement from 1.87% in the prior year, though its contribution to total real GDP marginally decreased to 3.92% from 3.97%.
The non-oil sector's resilience was evident as it accounted for 96.08% of the total real GDP, a slight increase from 96.03% in the corresponding quarter of 2025. This sector's performance was propelled by telecommunications, crop production, trade, cement manufacturing, financial institutions, real estate, construction, and road transportation.
In nominal terms, the aggregate GDP at basic prices surged to N110.79 trillion in Q1 2026, up from N94.05 trillion in Q1 2025, marking a nominal year-on-year growth of 17.79%. The Information and Communication sector was a notable growth driver, expanding by 10.98% and contributing 11.31% to total GDP. The Finance and Insurance sector grew by 8.54%, and construction expanded by 6.38%.
However, not all sectors experienced growth. The Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply sector contracted by 15.30%, and the Other Services sector declined by 1.96%.
The reported GDP figures were noted to be below projections by the World Bank, which had previously revised Nigeria's 2026 growth forecast downward to 4.1% due to global uncertainties and energy market volatility.
