Manufacturing sector rebounds as contribution to GDP hits 9.57% in Q1

Nigeria’s manufacturing sector contributed 9.57% to the country’s real Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of 2026.

This is according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The latest figures represent a slight decline from the 9.62% contribution recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025, but a significant improvement over the 7.40% posted in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The NBS reported that the manufacturing sector recorded stronger year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter growth during the first quarter of 2026.

The report also showed that manufacturing contributed 10.08% to nominal GDP in Q1 2026, compared to 10.78% in the corresponding quarter of 2025 and 8.34% in Q4 2025.

The improved quarter-on-quarter performance can be traced to increased activities across consumer goods production, cement manufacturing, food processing, industrial materials, and construction-related industries.

The manufacturing sector also maintained strong tax contributions, underscoring its growing importance to government revenue generation and formal economic activity.

However, manufacturers continue to call for stronger government support to address structural challenges, including high electricity costs, logistics bottlenecks, insecurity, exchange rate instability, multiple taxation, and rising production expenses.

Nigeria’s economy recorded a real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 3.89% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026.

In nominal terms, aggregate GDP at basic prices rose to N110.79 trillion in Q1 2026 from N94.05 trillion in Q1 2025.