Nigeria’s economy expanded modestly in the first quarter of 2026, with gross domestic product rising 3.89% year-on-year in real terms, driven overwhelmingly by activity outside the oil industry. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said this in its GDP report for Q1 2026 released on Monday, noting that the performance compares with 3.13% growth in the same period of 2025.
The report also broke down the size and composition of output. Nominal GDP for the quarter stood at N110.79 trillion, while real GDP was reported at N51.26 trillion as of Q1 2026. In terms of sector contribution, the services segment accounted for the largest share of total output at 57.73% during the period under review. On the broader split between oil and other activities, the oil sector contributed 3.92%, while the non-oil economy represented 96.08% of GDP.
Looking at momentum across quarters, the NBS said growth eased when compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, with GDP slowing by 0.10%. In its statement, the agency reiterated that real GDP grew by 3.89% (YoY) in Q1 2026—higher than the 3.13% registered in Q1 2025—and emphasized that services remained the dominant driver of the quarter’s GDP mix, contributing 57.73%.
