Telecom-Driven ICT Sector Contributes 10.07% to Nigeria’s GDP in 2025 – NBS
Economic activities in the telecommunications industry significantly boosted the contribution of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as the sector added 10.07 per cent in 2025.
This was disclosed in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2025 GDP report released on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The figure represents an increase from the 9.79 per cent contribution recorded in 2024.
According to the NBS, the ICT sector, for GDP calculation purposes, comprises Telecommunications and Information Services; Publishing; Motion Picture, Sound Recording and Music Production; and Broadcasting.
Out of the total 10.07 per cent annual contribution in 2025, telecommunications alone accounted for 7.29 per cent, leaving the remaining sub-sectors with less than three per cent combined contribution.
The NBS data further showed that in the fourth quarter of 2025, the ICT sector recorded a year-on-year growth rate of 26.34 per cent. This represents an 8.37 percentage point increase compared to the 17.97 per cent growth recorded in the same quarter of 2024, and 5.46 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in the preceding quarter.
Quarter-on-quarter growth in Q4 2025 stood at 19.58 per cent. Overall, the sector’s annual growth rose to 24.96 per cent in 2025, nearly doubling the 12.68 per cent recorded in 2024.
In nominal terms, the Information and Communications sector contributed 9.19 per cent to total GDP in Q4 2025, higher than the 8.55 per cent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024 and above the 8.31 per cent posted in the preceding quarter.
In real terms, the sector grew by 7.55 per cent year-on-year in Q4 2025, reflecting a 0.55 percentage point increase from the same period in 2024. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, real growth stood at 18.75 per cent. Overall, the sector expanded by 6.85 per cent in 2025, compared to 5.57 per cent in 2024.
Of total real GDP, the ICT sector contributed 9.64 per cent in Q4 2025, up from 9.32 per cent in the same quarter of the previous year and 9.10 per cent in the preceding quarter.
The NBS stated that the annual contribution of 10.07 per cent recorded in 2025 marks a steady improvement from the 9.79 per cent achieved in 2024.
Industry observers attribute the strong telecom performance to deliberate regulatory efforts aimed at increasing the sector’s GDP contribution. Recently, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, said the Commission and the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy are working on policies to raise the telecom sector’s contribution to 25 per cent.
Maida noted that the sector previously achieved a 14.58 per cent contribution before GDP rebasing and expressed optimism that it could surpass 25 per cent if existing challenges are addressed.
“Myself and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy are working very closely, looking at the right policies to ensure sustainability for an industry that has done so well for the country with 14 per cent GDP contribution. We believe we can do 25 per cent and above,” he said at a telecoms forum in Lagos.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s overall GDP grew by 4.07 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2025, reflecting a stronger economic expansion compared to earlier quarters.
In Q3 2025, GDP grew by 3.98 per cent year-on-year in real terms, an improvement over the 3.86 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2024, according to the NBS report.
