ICT Sector Records 31.6% Growth, Contributes 10% To GDP — NBS

Nigeria’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector has posted a 31.63 percent year-on-year growth in nominal terms for the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest GDP figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This marks a leap from the 3.40 percent growth recorded in Q1 2024, positioning the ICT sector as the most dynamic contributor to the country’s economic expansion in early 2025.

The sector’s contribution to nominal GDP rose to 10.29 percent, up from 9.25 percent in the same quarter of 2024 and 8.55 percent in the last quarter of that year.

In real terms, adjusted for inflation, the sector recorded 7.40 percent growth year-on-year, representing a 3.36 percentage point increase compared to Q1 2024.

Its real GDP contribution also grew to 10.59 percent, further reinforcing the sector’s growing influence in Nigeria’s broader economic structure.

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The NBS stated that, this strong performance reflects a surge in telecommunications services, rising broadband penetration, and increased consumption of digital content and online services.

The ICT sector, as defined by the Bureau, includes telecommunications, information services, publishing, broadcasting, motion picture, sound recording, and music production, with telecoms remaining the largest and most consistent growth driver.

Despite a quarter-on-quarter dip of -8.86 percent in real growth, largely attributed to seasonal declines in digital activity after Q4’s peak, the sector’s year-on-year numbers underscore a strong upward trend.

The latest figures are based on rebased GDP data, with 2019 now serving as the new base year, a shift from the previously used 2010 base.

The rebasing exercise was aimed at better capturing the structure of Nigeria’s evolving economy. As a result, GDP estimates from previous years have been revised upward, with the 2024 nominal GDP now showing a 35.4 percent increase compared to the old estimates.