A report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that Nigeria’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector contributed 17.47% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2023.
The report reveals an increase of 1.27% in the sector contribution, compared to the 16.2% recorded in the same quarter last year.
In terms of year-on-year the quarter under review, the ICT sector recorded a growth rate of 10.32%, which was largely driven by activities in the telecommunications subsection which contributed 14.13% to the GDP in real terms.
In nominal terms, the sector recorded 41.84% growth in the quarter under review, a 21.30% point increase from the rate of 20.54% recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and 20.43% points higher than the rate recorded in the preceding quarter.
The sector also contributed 13.23% to the total nominal GDP in the first quarter of 2023, higher than the rate of 10.55% recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and higher than the 10.42% it contributed in the preceding quarter.
The ICT sector is composed of four activities, which include; Telecommunications and Information Services; Publishing; Motion Pictures, Sound Recording, Music Production, and Broadcasting, and has no doubt been pivotal to the growth of Nigeria’s GDP.
The sector has continued to witness significant growth after it grew by 9.76 percent in 2022 from 6.55 percent reported in 2021.
Investors King understands that many factors are responsible for the growth of the ICT sector to Nigerian GDP. One of which is the steady awareness to move all services rendered by both the government and private sector online, which has led to an increased usage of more data by the organization.
Also, With the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) quest to promote a cashless economy, more individuals and organizations are gradually embracing the use of USSD, mobile, and internet banking, and many others, which also tends to improve the ICT sector.
Industry operators say the sector growth can be attributed to the increasing number of internet service subscribers, mobile service subscribers, and the growth in broadband penetration in the country.
Notably, many achievements of Nigeria in the area of ICT development have been possible through the successful launch and implementation of policies that foster the use of ICTs across all sectors to enhance a digital economy.
