Economy Grew By 1.87% In Q1 2020 — NBS

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown by 1.87% in the first quarter of 2020 in real terms despite pressure on business activities induced by the coronavirus crisis.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in its, “Nigerian Gross Domestic Product for Q1 2020,” stating that, “In the first quarter of 2020, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.87%(year-on-year) in real terms.”

According to the NBS,the performance recorded in Q1 2020 represents a drop of –0.23% points compared to Q1 2019 and a contraction of 0.68% points compared to Q4 2019.

NBS said the slide in performance compared to previous records, reflects, “the earliest effects of the disruption, particularly on the non-oil economy.

“Quarter on quarter, real GDP growth was –14.27% compared to 5.59% recorded in the preceding quarter,” the report added.

In Q1 2020, aggregate GDP stood at N35,647,406.08 million in nominal terms. This performance was higher when compared to the first quarter of 2019 which recorded N31,824,349.67 million, with a nominal growth rate of 12.01% year on year, NBS said.

NBS said, “Relative to the first quarter of 2019, the nominal growth rate was higher by 0.11% points but lower than the preceding quarter by –0.32% points. For better clarity, the Nigerian economy has been classified broadly into the oil and non-oil sectors.”

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, had projected the economy to shrink by 8.9% in the worst case scenariolppp, but however said that the economy could shrink by 4.4% in the best case scenario. However Zainab said with stimulus and necessary measures, the contraction could be reduced to 0.59%.