The economy of Nigeria advanced by 3.52% from a year ago in the fourth quarter of 2022, accelerating from the third quarter’s 2.25% rise and beating market estimates of a 2.33% growth. This marks the ninth consecutive quarter of expansion, driven by the non-oil sector (4.44% vs 4.27 in Q3), especially services (+5.69%), of which information & communication (10.35%) and finance & insurance (11.61%). Agriculture also contributed positively (+2.05%), while the industrial sector shrank (-0.94%), dragged down by mining (-11.39%) and oil refining (-39.23%). In the meantime, the oil sector contracted by 13.38%, after a 22.67% drop in the previous quarter, due to large-scale crude theft and pipeline vandalism. The average daily crude oil production stood at 1.34 million barrels per day, up from 1.20 mbps in Q3 but down from 1.50 mbps a year ago. The Nigerian GDP grew by 3.10% in 2022, compared with 3.40% a year earlier.
