COVID-19 Pushes Nigeria’s GDP Down By 6.10% In Q2 2020
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has said that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by –6.10%(year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2020.
The decrease it said ended the 3-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016/17 recession.
The decline was largely attributable to significantly lower levels of both domestic and international economic activity during the quarter, which resulted from nationwide shutdown efforts aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The domestic efforts according to the bureau ranged from initial restrictions of human and vehicular movement implemented in only a few states to a nationwide curfew, bans on domestic and international travel, closure of schools and markets etc., affecting both local and international trade.
The lockdown led by both the Federal and State governments, has evolved over the course of the quarter and persisted beyond the quarter.
When compared with Q2 2019, which recorded a growth of 2.12%, the Q2 2020 growth rate indicates a drop of –8.22% points, and a fall of –7.97% points when compared to the first quarter of 2020 (1.87%). Consequently, for the first half of 2020, real GDP declined by –2.18% year on year, compared with 2.11% recorded in the first half of 2019. Quarter on quarter, real GDP decreased by –5.04%.
The NBS said in the period under review, only 13 activities recorded positive real growth compared to 30 in the preceding quarter. Also in the quarter under review, aggregate GDP stood at N34,023,197.60 million in nominal terms, or -2.8% lower than the second quarter of 2019 which recorded an aggregate of N35,001,877.95 million.
Overall, the nominal growth rate was –16.81% points lower than what was recorded in the second quarter of 2019, and –14.81% points lower than recorded in the first quarter of 2020.
As an oil and non oil dependent economy, it was revealed that in the second quarter of 2020, an average daily oil production of 1.81 million barrels per day (mbpd) was recorded.
This was -0.21mbpd lower than the daily average production of 2.02mbpd recorded in the same quarter of 2019, and –0.26mbpd lower than the first quarter 2020. Production volume of 2.07mbpd by Real growth of the oil sector was –6.63% (year-on-year) in Q2 2020 indicating a decrease of –13.80% points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2019. Growth decreased by –11.69% points when compared to Q1 2020 which recorded 5.06%. Quarter-on-Quarter, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of –10.82% in Q2 2020.
