The Information and Communications Technology sector contributed 16.35% to Nigeria’s real GDP in Q3 2024, down from 19.78% in the previous quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics .
This marks an increase compared to the 15.97% contribution recorded in the same period last year.
According to the NBS, the ICT sector includes four key activities: Telecommunications and Information Services, Publishing, Motion Picture, Sound Recording and Music Production, and Broadcasting.
In the third quarter of 2024, the ICT sector grew by 5.92% in real terms, year-on-year. This growth was primarily driven by the telecommunications sub-sector, which contributed 13.94% to the GDP in real terms.
According to the NBS, the telecom industry was the third-largest contributor to Nigeria’s real GDP in Q3 2024, following crop production (26.51%) and trade industries (14.78%).
Dominated by mobile network operators such as MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9mobile, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the telecom sector also plays a significant role in driving activity across other sectors of the economy.
Broadcasting, the sub-sector closest to telecoms in terms of contribution, added 1.37% to the GDP.
The NBS data further revealed that the ICT sector contributed 11.30% to Nigeria’s total Nominal GDP in Q3 2024, a decline from 11.57% in the same quarter of 2023 and 14.19% in the preceding quarter.
In nominal terms, the sector grew by 14.51% year-on-year in Q3 2024, marking a 25.75 percentage point decrease from the 40.27% growth recorded in Q3 2023, but a 2.65 percentage point increase compared to the preceding quarter.
Nigeria’s GDP grew by 3.46% year-on-year in real terms in Q3 2024, showing a notable increase from the 2.54% growth in the same period of 2023 and an improvement over the 3.19% growth in Q2 2024.
