Nigeria’s GDP grows by 3.89% in Q1 2026 as agriculture, services drive expansion
Nigeria’s economy recorded a real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 3.89% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting an improvement from the 3.13% growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Nigeria’s economy recorded a real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 3.89% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting an improvement from the 3.13% growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
This is according to fresh GDP data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The latest figures indicate continued expansion across major sectors of the economy, supported by stronger agricultural activity, steady industrial output and sustained growth in the services sector.
In nominal terms, aggregate GDP at basic prices rose to N110.79 trillion in Q1 2026 from N94.05 trillion in Q1 2025, representing a nominal year-on-year growth of 17.79 per cent.
The economy remained broadly driven by non-oil activities, although the oil sector also posted moderate growth despite lower production volumes during the quarter.
The latest GDP report showed that the non-oil sector remained the dominant driver of economic growth, while agriculture recorded a significant rebound.
The report showed that key growth drivers included telecommunications, crop production, trade, cement manufacturing, financial services, construction, transportation and real estate activities.
The oil sector posted moderate growth despite lower crude oil production during the quarter.
The industrial sector maintained stable performance overall, growing by 3.50% in Q1 2026 compared to 3.42% recorded in the same period of 2025.
Nairametrics earlier reported that Nigeria’s economy grew by 4.07% year-on-year in real terms in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025.
Global institutions have expressed cautious optimism about Nigeria’s growth trajectory earlier in the year.
S&P Global Ratings upgraded Nigeria’s long-term foreign and local currency credit ratings to ‘B’ from ‘B-’.
The global ratings agency also affirmed Nigeria’s short-term sovereign ratings at ‘B’, while raising the country’s national scale ratings to ‘ngA+/ngA-1’ from ‘ngBBB+/ngA-2’, with a stable outlook.
