Nigeria, which appears to be reliant on oil exports, has attempted to diversify in recent years. In recent years, expansion in these other industries has been substantially responsible for the rise of Africa’s largest economy as a whole. Unfortunately, the rise of these industries did not reflect in the country’s GDP growth rate, as the country’s nominal GDP fell in 2022.
Inflation, oil vandalism, security issues, and the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak might all be blamed for the fall. According to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s GDP growth rate for 2022 would be 3.1%, down from 3.4% in 2021. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts Nigeria’s economic growth to be 3.2% in 2023.
This low forecast is due to external reasons such as decreased oil output in accordance with an agreement reached through OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which includes Russia and other non-OPEC oil producers), but non-oil growth is predicted to remain solid.
Regardless, other industries are stepping forward, whereas Nigeria’s oil industry is now struggling. According to a Nairametrics estimate drawn from Nigeria’s GDP statistics, the following are the 10 industries in the country that would grow the most in 2022.
- Quarrying and Other Minerals 27.52%
- Air Transport 26.23%
- Financial Institutions 17.24%
- Metal Ores 15.98%
- Road Transport 15.14%
- Water Transport 14.11%
- Water Supply, Sewage, Waste Management, and Remediation 13.62%
However, several industries witnessed contractions in the review year, such as oil refining, which fell 41.93% from 47.94% the previous year. Crude petroleum fell by 19.22% from a negative growth rate of 8.3% in 2021.
Finally, the Nigerian economy has witnessed tremendous growth in a number of industries, with Quarrying and Other Minerals, Air Transport, and Financial Institutions being the top three fastest-growing. These industries, along with others seeing rapid growth, are critical to Nigeria’s economy and are likely to expand further in the future years.
