Nigeria’s economy grew by 4.43% in the second quarter of 2026 — Premium Times Nigeria
Nigeria’s economy grew by 4.43% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, the highest second-quarter figure in the past three years. It exceeded the result of the second quarter of 2025, when growth stood at 4.23%, as well as the pace of the first quarter of 2026, at 3.89%, Premium Times Nigeria writes.
Non-oil sector
As noted in the column, citing Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, the non-oil sector grew by 4.31% in April-June and accounted for 95.84% of the country’s real GDP. Author Uddin Ifeanyi considers this a positive signal, as the economy relies less on crude oil extraction.
At the same time, the author stressed that these data do not indicate the completion of the economy’s structural transformation. The Renewed Hope Development Plan for 2026-2030 provides for diversification, productivity growth, human capital development, and private sector-led growth. According to the author, the government aims to achieve a medium-term economic growth rate of 7%.
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Industry and electricity
Industrial growth in the second quarter stood at 3.96%, while in the same period of 2025 it reached 7.46%. Manufacturing grew by 3.24% in real terms, but its share of GDP decreased over the year from 7.81% to 7.72%.
Output in the electricity, gas and steam sector declined by 10.63%. Ifeanyi noted that the economy will not be able to grow steadily by 6-7% annually if one of its key production resources, reliable electricity supply, is shrinking. He also drew attention to the low productivity of a significant part of the agricultural sector, which employs a large number of Nigerians, and pointed to the need to increase agricultural productivity and move released labor into sectors with higher returns on invested capital.
