By John Moses
Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has unveiled the results of a comprehensive GDP rebasing exercise, revealing a dramatic increase in the size of Africa’s most populous nation’s economy to ₦372.8 trillion in 2024, up from ₦54.2 trillion under the previous framework.
The update, announced on Monday, reflects a shift in the base year for economic calculations from 2010 to 2019, aligning Nigeria’s national accounting practices with global standards and offering a more accurate representation of its economic structure.
According to the NBS, the revised GDP figures incorporate new and previously underreported sectors, including fintech, digital services, creative industries, and informal enterprises. As a result, Nigeria’s nominal GDP for 2019 has been restated at ₦205.09 trillion, rising steadily to ₦372.82 trillion by 2024.
In real terms, the economy posted a year-on-year growth of 3.13% in Q1 2025, compared to 2.27% in Q1 2024. The growth was largely powered by the services sector, which accounted for 57.5% of total output and expanded by 4.33% in the same period.
The rebasing also reshuffled the hierarchy of key contributors to GDP. Crop production emerged as the largest individual sector, contributing 17.58% of total output, followed by trade (17.42%) and real estate (10.78%)—the latter overtaking the traditionally dominant crude petroleum and natural gas sector, now at 5.85%.
The statistical overhaul underscores Nigeria’s ongoing economic transformation, with the services sector now contributing 53.09% to GDP, followed by agriculture (25.83%) and industry (21.08%). Notably, the real estate sector’s rise is attributed to improved documentation of informal housing and land transactions.
In terms of quarterly performance, the industry sector grew by 3.42% in Q1 2025 (up from 2.35% in Q1 2024), while agriculture recorded a modest recovery at 0.07%, rebounding from a contraction of -1.79% a year earlier.
Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, described the rebasing as vital for policy formulation and economic planning. “This exercise is not unusual. It is a best-practice recommendation by the United Nations and helps ensure our statistics reflect reality,” he said.
The update also introduced a new pricing structure, reflecting current market conditions and consumption patterns, thus enhancing the accuracy of real GDP measurements.
While Nigeria’s 2010 rebasing saw nominal GDP estimates rise by nearly 60%, the latest revision yields a more modest 41.7% uplift, suggesting a maturing and more diversified economy. Nigeria’s growth trajectory since the pandemic has also been marked by consistent recovery: from -6.96% in 2020 to 3.38% in 2024.
The rebasing exercise relied on the creation of a new Supply and Use Table (SUT) covering 217 products across 46 economic activities, drawing on national surveys and international partnerships, including support from the World Bank and IMF.
Experts believe the revised data will enhance Nigeria’s credibility, potentially repositioning it within global economic rankings and offering a more reliable basis for investment and policy decisions as the country grapples with macroeconomic challenges.
