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· Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) for the second quarter 2020 (Q2) contracted by 6.10 percent on a year on year basis
· This is the first time in the last three years (since 2016-17), the GDP is in the negative territory
· The decline was mainly due to lower levels of both domestic and international economic activities during the quarter.
Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) for the second quarter 2020 (Q2) contracted by 6.10 percent on a year on year basis. This was revealed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This is the first time in the last three years (since 2016-17), the GDP is in the negative territory. The decline was mainly due to lower levels of both domestic and international economic activities during the quarter.
Initial restrictions on human and vehicular movement, bans on domestic and international travel, closure of schools and markets etc., had affected both local and international trade. The Q2 2019 saw an expansion of 2.12% in GDP. As against this, in Q2, 2020 growth rate showed a drop of -8.22% points, and a fall of -7.97 points relative to the first quarter of 2020. Consequently, real GDP for the first half of this year diminished by -2.18% on year on year compared to a growth of 2.11% reported in the same period of 2019. Real GDP declined by -5.04% on a quarter on quarter basis.
In Q2 2020, the nominal GDP stood at N34.023 trillion, 2.8% lower than that of the corresponding period of 2019, which clocked N35.002 trillion. Crude oil production in Nigeria fell to 1.81 million barrels per day within the period, compared to 2.02 million in Q2 2019 and 2.07 million in Q1 2020.
Nigeria’s non-oil sector fell by -6.05% in real terms in the review period. It is the first decline in real non-oil GDP growth rate since Q3 2017. The growth rate was -7.70% points, which is weaker relative to that posted during the corresponding quarter of 2019, and -7.60% points compared to Q1 2020. The non-oil sector output was driven by Financial and Insurance Information and Communication Agriculture and Public Administration.
