In the first quarter of 2020, Nigeria’s real GDP at basic prices grew by 1.87% but declined in the second quarter by -6.10% on a year on year basis. This brought the real GDP growth rate for the first half of 2020 to -2.18% year on year.
Compared to 2019, the growth rate in Q2 2020 was 8.2 percentage points lower than in Q2 2019. Furthermore, the growth rate for the first half of 2020 was 4.28 percentage points lower than in 2019.
Household Consumption Expenditure in Q1 and Q2 2020 grew by -4.03% and -0.08% respectively, in real terms, year on year, compared to -2.68% and 0.75% for the corresponding periods in 2019. Government Consumption Expenditure recorded growth rates of 6.8% and 152.1% in Q1 and Q2 2020 respectively, year on year.
For the first half of 2020, real household consumption expenditure declined by -1.99% compared to -0.94% in 2019, while government consumption expenditure grew 77.25%, compared to 4.46% in 2019.
Net Exports grew 18.15% in Q1 but declined -61.12% in Q2 2020, compared to 7.08% and 0.00x% recorded in the corresponding quarters of 2019. For the first half of 2020, net exports contracted by -19.89%, compared to growth of 3.56% for the same period in 2019.
National Disposable Income in Q1 and Q2 2020 grew by 2.55% and 0.66% respectively, in real terms, year on year, compared to 2.64% and 1.4% for the corresponding periods in 2019.
Compensation of Employees recorded a positive real growth rate of 6.7% in Q1 but contracted -6.47% in Q2 2020, year on year. For the first half of 2020, Compensation of Employees contracted by -0.34% compared to 7.4% growth in the first half of 2019.
Summary-Analysis of Expenditure Components
The graph below depicts the proportions of real GDP expenditure components from Q1 2017 to Q2 2020, as well as real GDP growth rates over the same period.
Household Consumption accounted for the largest share of real Gross Domestic Product at market prices, representing 54% in Q1 and 63% in Q2, 2020 compared to 58% and 59% for the same periods of 2019. Net Exports, which represented 21% of total real GDP in Q1 2020, however, declined considerably in Q2 to 7%.
In its place, General Government Consumption expenditure more than doubled its share in Q2 to 15%, compared to 6% in Q1 2020. Gross Fixed Capital Formation accounted for 17% of real GDP in Q1, which declined slightly to 14% in Q2 2020.
The share of Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households (NPISH) remained at less than 1% over the period, recording 0.6% in Q1 and 0.7% in Q2 2020.
