Nigeria’s economy experienced its fastest growth in three years during the fourth quarter of 2024, with a year-on-year increase of 3.84%. This marked a significant improvement over the 3.46% growth seen in the third quarter and the 2.98% reported in the first quarter.
The growth was largely driven by a robust performance in the services sector, which expanded by 5.37%, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics on February 25.
For the full year, Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.40%, up from 2.74% in 2023. However, the growth still fell short of President Bola Tinubu’s target of 6%, set when he took office in mid-2023. Despite this, there are signs of progress as Nigeria plans to rebase its GDP data, which will better reflect the evolving economic landscape. This rebase aims to incorporate sectors such as marine economy, arts, ICT, and e-commerce, all of which have seen significant growth since the last rebase in 2014.
The rebasing is expected to provide a more accurate reflection of the country’s economic strength, helping to improve its position, which has fluctuated due to currency devaluations under Tinubu’s administration. According to the World Bank, Nigeria is beginning to see positive outcomes from the bold economic reforms introduced by Tinubu’s government. These policy changes are expected to help unlock the country’s full economic potential in the long term.