The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has released the long-anticipated rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, officially changing the base year to 2019.
In the data published on Monday, the NBS stated, “Nigeria’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) rate was 3.13 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 — higher than the 2.27 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2024.”
“Following the rebasing of the Gross Domestic Product using 2019 as the base year, previous quarterly GDP estimates were benchmarked to the rebased annual estimates to align the old series to the new rebased estimates,” the bureau stated.
“This process generated a revised set of quarterly GDP data, allowing comparison with the new Q1 2025 estimates.
The recorded 3.13% growth marks an improvement over the 2.27% growth recorded in Q1 2024.
In nominal terms, aggregate GDP stood at ₦94.05 million in the quarter under review—an increase from ₦79.50 million in Q1 2024, representing a year-on-year nominal growth of 18.30%.
Nominal GDP measures the total market value of goods and services at current prices, while real GDP accounts for inflation, offering a more accurate picture of economic performance.
NBS reported that average daily oil production in Q1 2025 stood at 1.62 million barrels per day (mbpd), up from 1.57 mbpd in Q1 2024 and 1.54 mbpd in Q4 2024.
The oil sector contributed 3.97% to total real GDP in Q1 2025. This was slightly lower than the 4.02% recorded in the same period in 2024, but higher than its 2.80% contribution in Q4 2024.
Real growth in the oil sector stood at 1.87% year-on-year, representing a 2.85 percentage point decrease from the 4.71% recorded in Q1 2024, and a 0.22 percentage point drop from the 2.08% growth in Q4 2024.
However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector grew by 13.81% in Q1 2025.
The non-oil sector recorded a 3.19% real growth rate in Q1 2025. This reflects a 1.02 percentage point increase compared to Q1 2024 (2.17%), though lower than the 3.80% seen in Q4 2024.
Growth in this sector was largely driven by:
Information and Communication (Telecoms)
Agriculture (Crop production)
Real Estate
Financial and Insurance (Financial Institutions)
Trade
Construction
Manufacturing (Food, Beverage, and Tobacco)
In real terms, the non-oil sector contributed 96.03% to total GDP in Q1 2025—higher than its 95.98% share in Q1 2024, but slightly lower than the 97.20% recorded in Q4 2024.
Earlier in the year, the NBS stated that the rebased GDP would incorporate previously untracked economic activities, including output from modular refineries, informal sectors, and illicit trade. The updated figures were originally expected by the end of January.
