Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.89 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The growth rate was higher than the 3.13 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, showing continued economic resilience across major sectors.
The report showed that the agriculture sector recorded a real growth of 3.15 per cent in Q1 2026, a sharp improvement from the 0.07 per cent growth posted in the first quarter of 2025. The industry sector also expanded by 3.50 per cent, slightly above the 3.42 per cent recorded a year earlier.
The services sector remained the biggest contributor to the economy, growing by 4.31 per cent during the period under review. However, this was marginally lower than the 4.33 per cent growth recorded in Q1 2025.
In terms of GDP contribution, the services sector accounted for 57.73 per cent of the nation’s aggregate GDP in Q1 2026, compared to 57.50 per cent recorded in the same period of 2025.
According to the NBS document, aggregate GDP at basic prices stood at N110.79 trillion in nominal terms during the quarter.
“This performance is higher when compared to the first quarter of 2025, which recorded an aggregate GDP of N94.05 trillion, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth of 17.79 per cent,” the bureau stated.
The report added that the Nigerian economy remains broadly classified into oil and non-oil sectors.
Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production fell to 1.55 million barrels per day in Q1 2026, lower than the 1.62 million barrels per day recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. Production was also below the 1.58 million barrels per day recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Despite the drop in production volume, the oil sector recorded a real growth of 2.57 per cent year-on-year in Q1 2026, higher than the 1.87 per cent recorded in Q1 2025. However, growth slowed compared to the 6.79 per cent achieved in the previous quarter.
The NBS said the oil sector contributed 3.92 per cent to total real GDP in the first quarter of 2026, slightly below the 3.97 per cent recorded in Q1 2025 but above the 2.87 per cent contribution in Q4 2025.
On the agriculture sector, the report noted that crop production remained the major driver, accounting for 66.76 per cent of the sector’s nominal value in Q1 2026.
The sector grew by 9.93 per cent year-on-year in nominal terms, although this represented a slight decline from the same quarter of 2025. Quarter-on-quarter growth stood at negative 36.37 per cent.
Agriculture contributed 18.11 per cent to nominal GDP in Q1 2026, lower than the 19.40 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2025 and the 25.67 per cent recorded in Q4 2025.
In real terms, the agricultural sector contributed 23.16 per cent to aggregate GDP in Q1 2026, although this was lower than the contribution recorded in both the corresponding quarter of 2025 and the preceding quarter.
