Trending 
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate declined by 3.89 percent year-on-year in real terms in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026.
The bureau announced the new development in its latest GDP report for Q1 2026 on Monday. The record shows a decrease compared to the 4.07 percent recorded in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2025, but is higher than the 3.13 percent recorded in Q1 2025.
The NBS said, “During the quarter under review, agriculture grew by 3.15%, an improvement from the 0.07% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025. The growth of the industry sector stood at 3.50% from 3.42% recorded in the first quarter of 2025, while the services sector recorded a growth of 4.31% from 4.33% in the same quarter of 2025.”
Regarding the share of the GDP, the statistics body said that the services sector made more contributions to the aggregate GDP in Q1 of 2026 at 57.73 percent compared to the corresponding quarter of 2025 at 57.5 percent. The bureau added that aggregate GDP was N110.78 trillion in nominal terms for the quarter under review.
Furthermore, the agency said the country recorded an average daily oil production of 1.55 million barrels per day (mbpd) in Q1 2026. The reported drilling performance is 0.06 mbpd below the daily average of 1.62 mbpd and 0.03 mbpd below the fourth-quarter 2025 production volume of 1.58 mbpd.
“The real growth of the oil sector was 2.57 (year-on-year) in Q1 2026, indicating an increase of 0.70% points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025 (1.87%). Growth decreased by 4.22 percentage points compared to Q4 2025, which was 6.79%. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of 9.31% in Q1 2026,” the NBS said.
The report also said the oil sector contributed 3.92 percent to total real GDP in Q1 2026, down from 3.97 percent in the corresponding period in 2025 and up from 2.87 percent in the preceding quarter.
The NBS said the non-oil sector accounted for 96.08 percent of Nigeria’s GDP in the quarter under review. This was slightly higher than the 96.03 percent recorded in Q1 2025 but lower than the 97.13 percent posted in Q4 2025.
“The non-oil sector grew by 3.94 percent in real terms during the reference quarter (Q1 2026). This rate was higher by 0.75% points compared to the rate recorded in the same quarter of 2025, which was 3.19%, and lower than the 3.99% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025,” the agency report.
The data bureau further noted that the non-oil sector was driven in Q1 2026 mainly by information and communication (telecommunications); agriculture (crop production); trade; manufacturing (cement); financial & insurance (financial institutions); real estate; construction; and transportation and storage (road transport), accounting for positive GDP growth.
