From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday, said that the nation’s economy grew by 3.98 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021 even as it recorded an annual growth rate of 3.40 per in 2021.
Speaking to newsmen on the fourth quarter of Gross Domestic Products (GDP), in Abuja, the Statistician-General (SG) of the Federation, Dr Simon Harry, said that in nominal terms, aggregate GDP stood at N49.28 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2021.
“It is pertinent to note that the economy has maintained this positive trajectory up to the 4th quarter of 2021, recording a GDP growth rate of 3.98 per cent. This figure to an average Nigerian may be seen as lower than the 4.03 per cent growth rate recorded in Q3, 2021. However, analytically, it is not when viewed in terms of the base effect of the corresponding period in Q4 of 2020 when the economy recorded a GDP growth rate of 0.11 per cent as against the growth rate recorded in Q3 of the same year which was -3.62 per cent.
“I must state that the improvement being seen in the output growth in the last five quarters depicts steady progress made in stemming the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated negative impact on livelihood, well-being, and the economy. Globally, many countries have witnessed an improvement in economic performances compared to 2020 when COVID-19 was endemic. Thus, economic recovery is a gradual process that requires consistent collective efforts to improve economic activities across the institutional sectors: households, non-profit institutions serving households, financial corporations, non-financial corporations and the government.
“However, in Nigeria, the prospects of consolidating the recovery is glaring considering the improved economic performance over these periods of time. It is important to also mention that annual GDP growth of 2021 stands at 3.40 per cent,” he said.
This performance, the SG, further explained, is higher when compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 which recorded N43.56 trillion, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth rate of 13.11 per cent. Nominal Gross Domestic Product in the preceding quarter of Q3 2021 stood at N45.11 trillion. The annual nominal value in 2021 was N173.53 trillion as against N152.32 trillion in 2020, showing a growth rate of 13.92 per cent. In terms of real GDP which shows the volume of economic activities, fourth-quarter 2021 recorded N20.33 trillion, higher by N778.91 billion than N19.55 trillion recorded in fourth quarter 2020.
“This shows output growth of 3.98 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021. Moreover, the output of the fourth quarter of 2021 was higher by N1.79 trillion compared to the third quarter of 2021 when aggregate real GDP was N18.54 trillion. The annual real value of 2021 stood at N72.39 trillion compared to N70.01 trillion in 2020,” he said.
SG recalled that the Nigerian economy exited the COVID-19- induced recession in Q4, 2020 with a marginal GDP growth rate of 0.11 per cent. Since then, he added, the economy has witnessed four consecutive quarters of positive growth as follows: 0.11 per cent in Q4 2020, 0.51 per cent in Q1 2021, 5.01 per cent in Q2 2021 and 4. 03 per cent in Q3 2021.
According to Harry, in terms of oil performance, the average daily oil production of 1.50 million barrels per day (mbpd) was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021.
This, he said, shows a lower volume compared to 1.56mbpd recorded in Q4 2020 by 0.06mbpd.
“Fourth quarter 2021 daily oil production also shows lower volume compared to the third quarter 2021 production volume of 1.57mbpd. This trend accounts for an oil growth rate of -8.06 per cent in real terms recorded in fourth-quarter 2021 and an annual growth rate of -8.30 per cent in 2021. Additionally, during the fourth quarter of 2021, oil contributed 5.19 per cent to Gross Domestic Product from 5.87 per cent contributed in the fourth quarter of 2020. On an annual basis, oil contributed 7.24 per cent compared to 8.16 per cent in 2020,” he said.
On the non-oil sector (which excludes crude petroleum and natural gas activity), the sector recorded a growth of 4.73 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021 in real terms, an improvement from 1.69 per cent reported in the fourth quarter of 2020.
However, the growth rate of the non-oil sector in the third quarter of 2021 performed better at 5.44 per cent.
“Annual growth rate of 4.44 per cent was recorded in 2021 as against -1.25 per cent in 2020. Non-oil accounted for 94.81 per cent, an increase from 94.13 per cent recorded in fourth-quarter 2020, while annual contribution increased from 91.84 per cent in 2020 to 92.76 per cent in 2021.
Meanwhile, the fastest-growing activities in the fourth quarter of 2021 include the transportation and storage sector; mining and quarrying; financial and insurance sector. Water supply, sewage, waste management and remediation sector have shown strong growth during the fourth quarter of 2021.
However, the fastest-growing activities in real terms during the fourth quarter 2021 GDP estimates were air transport (63.05 per cent); coal mining (62.91 per cent); metal ores (46.96 per cent); quarrying and other minerals (42.92 per cent); rail transport and pipeline (37.74 per cent); road transport (30.39 per cent); water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (28.84 per cent); and financial institutions (25.19 per cent).
On the other hand, the Chief Executive Officer of NBS said the slowest growing activities include oil refining (-43.94 per cent); crude petroleum and natural gas (-8.06 per cent); wood and wood products (-4.82 per cent); pulp, paper and paper products (-3.33 per cent); and textile, apparel and footwear (-2.37 per cent).