The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, recently reported the 18.44 percent contribution of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2022 (Q2 2022) as the highest ever in the history of the Nigerian economy. The tech sector saw a 6.55% growth rate from Q1 2022.
According to the report by NBC (National Bureau of Statistics), this will be the highest contribution by ICT to the GDP, marking the third time that the sector has achieved an unprecedented contribution to Nigeria’s GDP during the tenure of the Minister in Q1 2020, Q2 2021, and now Q2 2022.
The contribution of the oil sector, which used to dominate the country’s GDP bottom line, fell to 6.33% in Q2 2022, a position lower than its 7.42% in Q2 2021 and 6.63% in Q1 2022. With trade coming in second to ICT and contributing 16.81% to the economy, higher than the 16.6% it recorded in 2021 when the world was just recovering from the pandemic, and the 16.13% it recorded in Q1 2022, the non-oil sector dominated the economy.
Per the report, the non-oil sector contributed 93.67% to the nation’s GDP in the period in review. The figure is said to be higher than 92.58% in Q2 2021 and 93.37% in Q1 2022. The non-oil sector’s contribution grew by 4.77% from the previous rate. The non-oil sector was driven mainly by telcos, trade, financial institutions, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing (food, beverage, and tobacco).
Altogether, Nigeria saw a GDP growth of 3.54% in Q2 2022, from the 3.11% growth it recorded in Q1.
