ICT sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s GDP rises marginally in Q2 2024

In the second quarter of 2024, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector contributed 19.78% to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the latest statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This represents a slight increase from the 19.54% recorded in the same period last year.

The ICT sector’s contribution also saw a quarter-on-quarter rise from 17.89% in Q1 2024. The sector, which includes Telecommunications and Information Services, Publishing, Motion Picture, Sound Recording, Music Production, and Broadcasting, grew by 4.44% year-on-year during the quarter.

Telecommunications remains a major driver of this growth, contributing 16.36% to the real GDP, making it the third-largest contributor behind crop production and trade

The sector, dominated by major mobile network operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), has a significant impact across various other economic sectors. Broadcasting, the next largest sub-sector within ICT, contributed 2.54% to the GDP.

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In nominal terms, the ICT sector contributed 14.19% to the total GDP for Q2 2024, down from 14.83% in the same quarter of 2023 but up from 13.12% in the previous quarter.

The sector saw a nominal growth of 11.86% year-on-year, though this is a decrease from the 41.67% growth recorded in Q2 2023.

Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, the ICT sector has demonstrated significant growth. A Whitepaper by the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, highlights that the sector’s nominal contribution increased from N7.1 trillion in Q3 2023 to N8.35 trillion in Q4 2023, with a slight decline to N7.86 trillion in Q1 2024.

The growth is attributed to Tinubu’s administration’s ambitious digital economy agenda, which includes initiatives like the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program and investments in research such as the AI Collective and Fourth Industrial Revolution Technology Application (4IRTA).

These initiatives aim to enhance Nigeria’s technological capabilities and support economic growth through innovation and a strengthened digital workforce.