- Nigeria’s real GDP grew at its fastest pace in 5 years, reaching 4.43% year-on-year in Q2 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics
- Arts, Entertainment and Recreation led all sectors with 11.93% growth, followed by Information and Communication at 9.62%
- The non-oil sector drove the bulk of the expansion, accounting for 95.84% of Nigeria’s real GDP during the quarter
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that Nigeria’s real GDP grew by 4.43% year-on-year in Q2 2026, up from 4.23% recorded in Q2 2025 and the strongest quarterly growth in the period under review.
The expansion was driven by agriculture, information and communication, finance and insurance, crude oil, construction, mining, transportation, real estate and other sectors.
Photo: NBS
Source: Twitter
Nigeria’s aggregate GDP at basic prices stood at N119.29 trillion in nominal terms in Q2 2026, representing an 18.43% increase from the N100.73 trillion recorded in Q2 2025.
The services sector remained the largest contributor to the economy, accounting for 56.62% of real GDP, slightly higher than 56.53% in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Agriculture grew by 4.39% in real terms, while industry expanded by 3.96%. The services sector recorded the strongest broad-sector performance, growing by 4.60% year-on-year.
Here is a breakdown of key sector performance in Q2 2026 based on their real year-on-year growth rates.
1. Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
The Arts, Entertainment and Recreation sector recorded the fastest real growth among the major activities, expanding by 11.93% year-on-year in Q2 2026.
This represented an increase of 4.29 percentage points from the 7.64% growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
The sector contributed 0.31% to real GDP, compared with 0.29% in Q2 2025, although its contribution remained relatively small.
2. Information and Communication
The Information and Communication sector remained one of the strongest performers, growing by 9.62% in real terms year-on-year.
Its performance improved by 3.02 percentage points from the 6.60% recorded in Q2 2025.
The sector contributed 11.74% to real GDP, up from 11.18% a year earlier, highlighting the growing importance of telecommunications and information services to Nigeria’s economy.
3. Finance and Insurance
Finance and Insurance recorded real growth of 9.29% year-on-year in Q2 2026.
Although this was 6.84 percentage points lower than the growth recorded in Q2 2025, it was 0.74 percentage points higher than the 8.55% recorded in Q1 2026.
The sector contributed 3.37% to real GDP, compared with 3.23% in Q2 2025.
4. Oil Sector
Nigeria’s oil sector grew by 7.31% in real terms year-on-year in Q2 2026, although the pace was significantly lower than the 20.46% recorded in Q2 2025.
The sector’s performance improved from the 2.57% growth recorded in Q1 2026.
Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production increased to 1.72 million barrels per day, compared with 1.68 million barrels per day in Q2 2025 and 1.55 million barrels per day in Q1 2026.
The oil sector contributed 4.16% to real GDP, up from 4.05% in Q2 2025 and 3.92% in Q1 2026.
5. Construction
Construction recorded real growth of 6.75% year-on-year in Q2 2026.
The performance was 1.48 percentage points higher than the 5.27% recorded in Q2 2025 and 0.37 percentage points above the growth rate in Q1 2026.
The sector contributed 3.68% to real GDP, compared with 3.60% in Q2 2025.
6. Mining and Quarrying
The Mining and Quarrying sector grew by 6.37% in real terms year-on-year in Q2 2026.
The sector’s performance was lower than the 20.85% recorded in Q2 2025 but higher than the 1.89% growth recorded in Q1 2026.
Crude petroleum and natural gas remained the dominant activity, accounting for 95.37% of the sector’s output.
Mining and Quarrying contributed 4.30% to real GDP, up from 4.23% in Q2 2025.
7. Transportation and Storage
Transportation and Storage expanded by 5.70% in real terms year-on-year in Q2 2026.
However, this represented a significant slowdown from the 22.09% growth recorded in Q2 2025 and was also lower than the 7.41% recorded in Q1 2026.
The sector contributed 0.66% to real GDP, slightly higher than the 0.65% recorded a year earlier.
8. Agriculture
Agriculture grew by 4.39% in real terms year-on-year in Q2 2026, showing a notable improvement from the 2.82% recorded in Q2 2025.
The sector also performed better than the 3.15% growth recorded in Q1 2026.
Crop production remained the main driver of agricultural activity, accounting for 59.35% of the sector’s nominal value.
Agriculture contributed 26.15% to real GDP, making it one of the largest contributors to Nigeria’s economic output.
Photo: Bloomberg
Source: Getty Images
9. Real Estate Services
The Real Estate Services sector recorded real growth of 3.76% year-on-year in Q2 2026.
Its growth was marginally lower than the 3.79% recorded in Q2 2025 but significantly higher than the 2.29% recorded in Q1 2026.
Real Estate Services contributed 12.71% to real GDP, making it the second-largest contributor among individual economic activities after trade and agriculture-related activities.
10. Administrative and Support Services
Administrative and Support Services grew by 3.27% in real terms year-on-year in Q2 2026.
The growth rate was slightly higher than the 3.08% recorded in Q2 2025 and also above the 3.21% recorded in Q1 2026.
The sector contributed 1.45% to real GDP during the quarter.
Other sectors record mixed performance
Manufacturing grew by 3.24% in real terms year-on-year, while Professional, Scientific and Technical Services expanded by 2.79%.
Education grew by 2.76%, Human Health and Social Services by 2.64%, Trade by 2.40% and Public Administration by 1.94%.
The Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply sector remained weak, contracting by 10.63% in real terms despite recording nominal growth.
Other Services also contracted by 0.70% in real terms during the quarter.
Non-oil sector remains dominant
The non-oil sector grew by 4.31% in real terms in Q2 2026, higher than the 3.64% recorded in Q2 2025 and the 3.94% recorded in Q1 2026.
The sector was supported mainly by agriculture, telecommunications, real estate, trade, financial institutions, manufacturing and construction.
The non-oil sector accounted for 95.84% of Nigeria’s real GDP, confirming its dominant role in the country’s economic output.
The latest GDP figures therefore point to a broad-based expansion, although the performance of individual sectors varied significantly during the quarter.
Tinubu lists reforms
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the federal government has disclosed 11 major economic and financial reforms rolled out between May 2023 and December 2025, saying the measures were designed to tackle deep-rooted structural problems and build a base for long-term economic growth.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, presented the reforms during a media briefing on the government’s Reform Scorecard, covering areas such as fiscal policy, taxation, foreign exchange, labour, education, energy, infrastructure, banking and capital markets.
Source: Legit.ng