Nigeria’s digital industry has played a pivotal role in the nation’s economic expansion, contributing 23.09% to the country’s GDP in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The Digital industry sector’s performance was fueled by two major components: Information and Communications (I&C) and Finance and Insurance (F&I). In Q4 2024, the I&C segment contributed 17% to GDP, generating N3.8 trillion, an increase from N3.6 trillion in the same period of 2023.
Telecommunications led this charge, making up 84.2% of the segment’s total value, while other areas such as broadcasting, publishing, and music production trailed behind. Despite this growth, the I&C sector’s year-over-year growth rate softened from 7.91% in Q4 2023 to 5.42% in Q4 2024.
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In parallel, the F&I sector recorded significant gains, accumulating N1.37 trillion in Q4 a 28% increase from N1.07 trillion in the same period last year. Financial institutions led this surge with a 28.7% year-over-year growth, while the insurance sub-sector grew by 17.18%.
Last year, the Financial and Insurance contributed 30.83% and was labeled the largest contributors to the Nigerian economy. Financial Institutions accounted for 91.76% of the sector’s output in Q3 2024, while insurance contributed 8.24%. Overall, growth in this sector in real terms, totaled 30.83%, reflecting an increase of 2.62 percentage points compared to Q3 2023 and a rise of 2.04 percentage points compared to the preceding quarter. For the full year 2024, the digital industry’s contribution to GDP reached 23.9%, an increase from the N17.1 trillion registered in 2023.
However, the growth rates between sectors diverged; while the I&C segment experienced a slowdown from 7.91% to 5.42% year-over-year in Q4, the F&I sector maintained strong momentum, rising from 26.53% in 2023 to 29.57% in 2024. Overall, Nigeria’s GDP climbed by 3.84% in Q4 2024 compared to the previous year, largely driven by the services sector, which grew by 5.37%. This reflects the enduring resilience of the Nigerian economy amid global uncertainties. For the entire year, GDP growth was recorded at 3.40% in 2024, up from 2.74% in 2023, demonstrating continued recovery and sectoral expansion.
Looking ahead, Nigeria’s financial sector is poised for transformation in 2025, driven by regulatory reforms, technological innovation, and market growth. A recent report by Stren & Blan Partners, titled Financial Sector 2024 Round-up and 2025 Forecast, identifies bank recapitalization, mergers and acquisitions, financial inclusion, cryptocurrency regulation, and ESG financing as key trends. These developments are expected to bolster stability, expand digital financial services, and draw increased investment.
In the broader scene of Nigeria’s GDP growth, sectors such as electricity, digital industry, trade and so on, contributed 57.38 percent to the nation’s overall GDP. Meanwhile, the agriculture sector experienced a slight slowdown, growing at 1.76 per cent, down from 2.10 per cent, in Q4 2023. Likewise, the industry sector recorded a 2.00 percent growth rate, declining from 3.86 per cent in the previous year.
For the oil sector, there was an average record in oil production of 1.54 million barrels per day (mbpd) in the fourth quarter of the year. The real growth of the oil sector was 1.48 per cent YoY in Q4 2024, indicating a decrease of 10.64 per cent points relative to the 12.11 per cent rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2023. The non-oil sector grew by 3.96 per cent in real terms in Q4 2024. The rate was higher by 0.89 per cent compared to the 3.07 per cent recorded in Q4 2023 and higher than the 3.37 per cent recorded in Q3 2024.
Nigeria’s economic resilience in 2024, bolstered by the digital industry’s standout performance, sets the stage for continued growth and innovation in the year ahead.