The telecommunications sector contributed N1.39 trillion to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2015, the National Bureau of Statistics revealed at the weekend in Abuja.
The sector’s contribution to the nation’s GDP was 7.71 per cent, a slight increase relative to the 7.57 per cent contribution recorded in the third quarter of 2014.
However, analysis showed that it was lower than the 9.57 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2015.
The NBS stated that the decrease may not be unconnected to a large extent to “seasonal patterns of the telecommunications sector and whole economy.”
The report indicated that the annual growth rates recorded in the second and third quarters of 2015 were 4.66 per cent and 4.69 per cent respectively, lower than the 6.15 per cent and 6.25 per cent recorded in the same quarters of 2014.
“The share of telecommunications in real GDP tends to fluctuate over the course of the year, due to different seasonal patterns, but nevertheless annual averages declined every year between 2010 and 2014,” the report stated.