Nigeria’s GDP Shrinks By 6.10 Per Cent In Second Quarter
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Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by six percent in real terms in the second quarter of 2020, according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.
This was contained in the NBS’s GDP report published on Monday.
The retreat ends a three-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the national economy emerged from recession in 2017.
According to the NBS, the decline was “largely attributable to significantly lower levels of both domestic and international economic activity during the quarter, which resulted from nationwide shutdown efforts aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Nigeria essentially shut down its economy in March – restricting inter-state travel, closing worship centres, schools and markets – as parts of efforts to keep the spread of the novel coronavirus under control.
“The efforts, led by both the Federal and State governments, evolved over the course of the quarter and persisted throughout,” the NBS said.
The oil sector, which accounts for a large percentage of the country’s revenues, recorded negative growth of 6.63 percent, “indicating a decrease of –13.80%
points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2019.”
The non-oil sector also declined by 6.05% in real terms during the second quarter.
“It was the first decline in real non-oil GDP growth rate since Q3 2017,” the NBS said.
More to follow . . .