A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector contributed 16.66 percent to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023).
This marks a notable increase from the 16.22 percent recorded in the same period the previous year.
The NBS data, released on Friday, highlights a real-term growth rate of 6.33 per cent annually within the ICT sector. Particularly, the telecommunications sub-sector, constituting over 14 percent of the GDP in actual terms, emerged as a significant driver of this growth.
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Comprising Telecommunications and Information Services, Publishing, Motion Picture, Sound Recording, Music Production, and Broadcasting, the ICT sector’s contribution to the total nominal GDP stood at 12.52 per cent in Q4 2023. This surpasses the rates of 10.42 per cent in Q4 2022 and 11.57 per cent in the preceding quarter.
In nominal figures, the sector witnessed a year-over-year growth of 39.57 per cent, indicating a substantial increase from the 21.41 per cent growth rate in Q4 2022 and a slight decrease of 0.70 per cent from the previous quarter.
Regarding active subscriptions, the NBS data indicates a rise in voice telecommunications services to 224.7 million in Q4 2023, marking a 0.96 per cent increase compared to Q4 2022. Quarter-on-quarter, active voice subscribers increased by 1.32 per cent from Q3 2023.
In terms of internet subscriptions, Nigeria saw a year-on-year increase of 5.81 per cent, totaling 163.8 million in Q4 2023 compared to 154,847,901 in Q4 2022. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, active internet subscribers grew by 2.29 per cent from Q3 2023.
The report’s state-by-state analysis reveals Lagos state leading in active voice subscribers with 26.7 million, followed by Ogun with 13 million and Kano with 12.3 million in Q4 2023.
