By Obinna Uballa
Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.98% year-on-year in real terms in the third quarter of 2025, driven largely by gains in the agriculture and industrial sectors, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The growth rate is slightly higher than the 3.86% recorded in the same period in 2024 but lower than the 4.23% achieved in Q2 2025.
In nominal terms, Nigeria’s GDP stood at N113.587 trillion in Q3 2025, up from N96.160 trillion in Q3 2024, marking an 18.12% year-on-year increase.
Sectoral Contributions
The report highlighted that agriculture grew by 3.79% in Q3 2025, up from 2.55% in the corresponding quarter of 2024, while the industrial sector expanded by 3.77%, compared with 2.78% a year earlier. The services sector recorded a 4.15% growth, slightly lower than 4.97% in Q3 2024, but remained the largest contributor to GDP, accounting for 53.02% of aggregate output.
The oil sector produced an average of 1.64 million barrels per day (mbpd), higher than 1.47 mbpd in Q3 2024 but slightly below Q2 2025’s 1.68 mbpd. Real growth in the oil sector was 5.84% year-on-year, up from 5.66% in 2024, though it contracted by 5.53% on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The sector contributed 3.44% to total real GDP in Q3 2025.
The non-oil sector remained the dominant driver of growth, expanding by 3.91% in real terms, led by crop production, telecommunications, real estate, financial institutions, trade, construction, and manufacturing. The sector contributed 96.56% to GDP in Q3 2025.
Construction saw a nominal year-on-year growth of 21.23%, slightly below the 24.52% in Q3 2024, while the trade sector grew by 19.27%. Transportation and storage expanded by 24.35% in nominal terms, reflecting positive growth across most sub-activities in the sector.
Challenges and Opportunities
Prof. Uche Uwaleke, Executive Director at the Institute of Capital Markets, Nasarawa State University, said the report shows a broadly positive but mixed performance, with non-oil sectors driving momentum. He noted that manufacturing continues to grow slowly, below 2%, due to structural bottlenecks such as unreliable energy supply, inadequate transportation, and limited access to credit.
“Policy focus should prioritise job-intensive sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and construction while expanding critical social investments in education and health,” Uwaleke said.
The report underscores that while Nigeria’s GDP growth remains steady, sustaining and translating it into inclusive gains will require addressing structural constraints, boosting industrial capacity, and supporting sectors that generate employment.
