ICT Contributes 19.54% To GDP In Q2’

The Information and Communications Technology’s (ICT) sector has contributed 19.54 per cent to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Q2 2023.

This represented an increase in contribution compared to the 18.44 per cent recorded in the same period last year. The ICT sector comprises the four activities of Telecommunications and Information Services; Publishing; Motion Picture, Sound Recording, and Music Production; and Broadcasting.

The telecom industry, which is dominated by mobile network operators including MTN, Globalcom, Airtel, 9mobile, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) is also driving a lot of activities in every other sector of the economy.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), who disclosed this in the Q2 GDP statistics, averred that, quarter on quarter, the sector also recorded a growth in real GDP contribution when compared to the 17.47 per cent it added in Q1, 2023.

While the ICT sector recorded a growth rate of 11.64 per cent in real terms year on year in the quarter under review, the growth was driven largely by activities in the telecommunications sub-sector, which contributed 16.06 per cent to the GDP in the real term.

The closest sub-sector to telecoms in the ICT sector in terms of contribution was Broadcasting, which added 2.59 per cent.

The sector also contributed 14.83 per cent to the total Nominal GDP in the second quarter of 2023, 12.12 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2022, and higher than the 13.23 per cent it contributed to the preceding quarter.

In nominal terms, the sector recorded 41.67 per cent growth in the quarter under review, a 27.56 per cent increase from the rate of 14.11 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and 0.17 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in the preceding quarter.