Nigeria’s economy grew by 4.43 per cent in real terms in the second quarter of 2026, exceeding the 4.23 per cent recorded in the same period a year earlier, according to the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The growth represents a 0.20 percentage-point improvement year-on-year and points to stronger economic activity across several key sectors during the quarter.
The Brandspur Economy News Desk reports that agriculture recorded 4.39 per cent growth in Q2 2026, a notable improvement from the 2.82 per cent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Services also strengthened, expanding by 4.60 per cent compared with 3.94 per cent a year earlier. The sector remained the largest contributor to Nigeria’s economic output, accounting for 56.62 per cent of real GDP during the quarter, slightly above its 56.53 per cent share in Q2 2025.
Industry, however, recorded slower growth. The sector expanded by 3.96 per cent in Q2 2026, down from 7.46 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
In nominal terms, Nigeria’s aggregate GDP reached N119.27 trillion during the quarter. This was an 18.43 per cent increase from the N100.7 trillion recorded in Q2 2025.
Real GDP, which strips out the effect of price changes, stood at N53.47 trillion during the period.
The oil sector also recorded stronger production compared with the preceding quarter. Average daily crude oil production rose to 1.63 million barrels per day in Q2 2026, from 1.55 million barrels per day in Q1.
However, the Q2 production level remained below the 1.68 million barrels per day recorded in Q2 2025.
Despite the year-on-year decline in production, the oil sector’s real GDP growth stood at 7.31 per cent in Q2 2026. That was lower than the 20.46 per cent recorded in Q2 2025 but represented a significant improvement on the 2.57 per cent growth recorded in Q1 2026.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector grew by 10.91 per cent.
The sector contributed 4.16 per cent to total real GDP in Q2 2026, compared with 4.05 per cent in Q2 2025 and 3.92 per cent in the preceding quarter.
Meanwhile, the non-oil sector continued to dominate the economy, contributing 95.84 per cent of real GDP during the quarter.
The sector grew by 4.31 per cent, up from 3.64 per cent in Q2 2025 and 3.94 per cent in Q1 2026.
According to the NBS, agriculture, telecommunications, real estate, trade, financial institutions, manufacturing, particularly cement production, and construction were among the major activities supporting non-oil sector growth.
The latest GDP figures provide a snapshot of how Nigeria’s economy performed across agriculture, industry, services and oil production during the second quarter, with the stronger overall growth largely reflecting improved activity in agriculture and services alongside a recovery in the oil sector from the previous quarter.
