The Nigerian economy shows positive results, as its gross domestic product has increased by 3.46% in July-September, 2024, mainly thanks to the growth in the service sector, the country's National Bureau of Statistics reported on Monday.
"This growth rate is higher than the 2.54% recorded in the third quarter of 2023 and higher than the second quarter of 2024 growth of 3.19%," the statistics agency said in a statement.
According to the statistics, the service sector has grown by 5.19% and accounted for over 50% of GDP, while growth in the agriculture sector has been recorded at 1.14%, which is slower than in the same period of 2023. The growth of the industry sector was 2.18%, an improvement from 0.46% recorded in the third quarter of 2023.
The statistics agency noted that the oil industry, which is one of the main sectors in the Nigerian economy, contributed only 5.57% to GDP growth in the third quarter of the current year.
Since taking office last May, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has introduced significant reforms in the country's economy. These changes involved slashing costly petrol and power subsidies and devaluing the naira currency twice within a year to narrow the gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates.
The initiative fueled mass protests in the country since August 1. The demonstrations were very active in the first 10 days of that month. According to local media, in those days, at least 30 people died during the protests, and more than 600 were arrested.
Despite the protests, the Nigerian president didn't step back from the idea of promoting tax reforms to improve the budget revenue.