The contribution of the Information and Communications (ICT) sector to Nigeria’s total GDP (Gross Domestic Product) dropped to N1.28 trillion in the first quarter of 2020, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This represents 7.65% of the total GDP.
The total GDP of the country stood at N16.74 trillion for the first quarter of 2020, a 14.27% decrease from the N19.53 trillion recorded in Q4 2019. This performance shows a growth of 1.84% year-on-year (YoY) but it was a smaller growth compared to the 2.55% YoY recorded in Q4 2019 and the 2.28% YoY recorded in Q3 2019.
According to NBS, the slump was caused by a combination of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 public health crisis, a sharp fall in oil prices and restricted international trade.
ICT Contribution drops by 8.02%
Nigeria’s ICT sector was one of the major contributors to Nigeria’s GDP in 2019. However, the sector’s contribution dropped by about 8% reducing the amount contributed by the sector to N1.28 trillion. The sector contributed N2.57 trillion in Q4 of 2019.
The Information and Communications sector comprises of Telecommunications and Information Services, Publishing, Motion Picture, Sound Recording and Music Production, and Broadcasting.
The sector recorded a positive growth rate of 7.65% YoY but the rate recorded compared to the same period in 2019 showed a decrease of 1.84%.
Also, the sector contributed a higher margin to the GDP when compared to crude oil, the country’s pride commodity. The ICT sector contributed 14.07% while oil sector contributed 9.50%. This is considerably higher than its 13.32% contribution a year earlier and 13.12% in the last quarter. The oil sector contributed just 7.32% in Q4, 2019.
As a subsector, the Telecommunications and Information Services had a growth rate of about 9.71% in Q1 2020. However its growth was less than the 10.26 percentage growth recorded in Q4 2019, and 12.18% recorded in Q1 2019.
Summary
Although ICT contribution compared to other sectors is significant, the huge drop in the amount contributed shows that the economic situation caused by the pandemic also had a considerable impact on ICT.
Going forward, the country needs to put more effort into achieving its goal of 65% broadband penetration in order to improve ICT’s contribution to the country’s GDP. This is because the huge adoption of remote work and other technology-related services is sure to considerably boost ICT if the broadband is improved.
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