Distribution of gross domestic product (GDP) across economic sectors Nigeria 2023

In 2023, agriculture contributed around 22.72 percent to Nigeria’s GDP, 32.58 percent came from industry, and 42.77 percent from the services sector. 

Economic sectors

The most common breakdown of economic activity in a country is looking at three economic sectors: The primary sector, which involves agriculture, forestry, and fishing, the secondary sector, industry, that includes manufacturing, processing, or transforming goods, and finally, the tertiary sector, services, i.e. providing information or services to consumers, such as in IT, tourism, or banking. A country’s contribution to GDP, and thus its own economy, is easily visible when looking at the performance of these three sectors.

Soaring services in Nigeria

Like in most thriving economies nowadays, the services sector is gaining momentum in Nigeria, because more and more people are moving from the countryside to the cities to find jobs. Nigeria is a mixed economy which focuses mainly on telecommunications, financial services, and technology, a strategy that is likely to pay off in the future and will see its GDP soaring. Nigeria’s reliance on oil is also an important contributor to its economic success; between 2001 and 2010, it was one of the countries with the highest GDP growth worldwide. However, oil prices are also responsible for a GDP growth slump in 2016 and for the first trade deficit in over a decade.