By Energy Worth
Nigeria’s economy sustained its recovery momentum in the fourth quarter of 2025, with real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanding by 4.07 per cent year-on-year, driven largely by continued growth in the services sector and improved oil output.
Data released on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the Q4 performance surpassed the 3.76 per cent growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2024, reinforcing signs of broad-based economic resilience.
According to the report, agriculture recorded stronger growth during the period, supported by improved output across key segments. “During the quarter under review, agriculture grew by 4.00%, an improvement from the 2.54% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024,” the bureau stated.
Industrial activities also gained momentum, reflecting improved performance across manufacturing and related sub-sectors, while services remained the largest driver of economic expansion.
“The growth of the industry sector stood at 3.88% from 2.49% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024, while the services sector recorded a growth of 4.15% from 4.75% in the same quarter of 2024,” NBS said.
The services sector continued to dominate overall output, accounting for more than half of aggregate GDP. NBS noted that the sector’s share rose marginally to 55.92 per cent in Q4 2025, compared with 55.87 per cent in the same quarter of the previous year.
On a full-year basis, economic growth strengthened in 2025, reflecting steady gains across key sectors of the economy. “On an annual basis, the growth rate in 2025 stood at 3.87% from 3.38% in 2024,” the bureau added.
In nominal terms, the size of the economy also expanded significantly. NBS reported that aggregate GDP stood at ₦122.81 trillion in Q4 2025, compared with ₦104.47 trillion in the same period of 2024, representing a year-on-year nominal growth of 17.55 per cent.
Oil sector performance improved during the quarter, supported by higher crude production, although output remained below the previous quarter’s level. NBS said average daily oil production stood at 1.58 million barrels per day in Q4 2025, above the 1.54 mbpd recorded a year earlier but lower than the 1.64 mbpd achieved in Q3 2025.
The bureau reported a sharp improvement in oil sector growth on a year-on-year basis. “The real growth of the oil sector was 6.79% (year-on-year) in Q4 2025, indicating an increase of 4.71 percentage points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024 (2.08%),” NBS said.
However, quarter-on-quarter performance was weaker, reflecting production fluctuations within the period. “Growth increased by 0.95 percentage points when compared to Q3 2025, which was 5.84%. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of -6.30% in Q4 2025,” the report noted.
Despite the volatility, oil sector output posted stronger results for the full year. “The annual growth rate of oil stood at 8.50%, higher than the 5.54% recorded in 2024,” NBS added.
The oil sector contributed 2.87 per cent to total real GDP in Q4 2025, slightly higher than its contribution in the corresponding quarter of 2024 but lower than the 3.44 per cent recorded in the preceding quarter. “Overall, it contributed 3.53% in 2025, higher than its contribution of 3.38% in 2024,” the bureau said.
Meanwhile, the non-oil sector remained the backbone of the economy, accounting for the overwhelming share of output and growth. NBS reported that non-oil activities grew by 3.99 per cent in Q4 2025 and contributed 97.17 per cent to economic growth during the period.
“This rate was higher by 0.19 percentage points compared to the rate recorded in the same quarter of 2024, which was 3.80%, and higher than the 3.91% recorded in the third quarter of 2025,” the bureau stated.
In real terms, the non-oil sector contributed 97.13 per cent to GDP in the fourth quarter, marginally lower than the share recorded a year earlier but higher than the contribution in Q3 2025. On an annual basis, the sector accounted for 96.47 per cent of GDP in 2025, slightly below the 96.62 per cent recorded in 2024.
NBS said non-oil growth in Q4 was driven mainly by agriculture, particularly crop production, as well as information and communication services, real estate, trade, financial and insurance services, construction, transportation and storage, and manufacturing, notably food, beverages and tobacco.
