The ICT sector has no doubt contributed immensely to the sustainability of the Nigerian economy. The sector contributed 17.92 percent in the last quarter of 2020, and also in the first quarter of 2021, and has so far continued on an impressive trajectory.
Recently, the sector contributed 18.44% to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2022, surpassing the contribution of the previous year. The sector is composed of four activities, which are; Telecommunications and Information Services, Publishing; Motion and Picture, Sound Recording and Music Production; and Broadcasting.
The sector’s growth has been reported to be largely driven by activities in the telecommunications sub-sector which contributed 9.49% to the nation’s GDP. Its contribution to nominal GDP for the second quarter of 2021 stopped at 12.12% which was lower than the rate of 12.22% recorded in the same quarter of 2021, but higher than the 10.55% it contributed in the preceding quarter.
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In nominal terms, in the second quarter of 2022, the sector growth was recorded at 14.11% year-on-year, 14.18% points increase from the rate of -0.07% recorded in the same quarter of 2021, and 6.43% points lower than the rate recorded in the preceding quarter.
The quarter-on-quarter growth rate recorded in the second quarter of 2022 was 14.13%. The ICT sector in the period under review, recorded a growth rate of 6.55% in real terms, year-on-year. From the rate recorded in the corresponding period of 2021, there was an increase of 0.99% points.
Nigeria’s Minister of communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, while speaking at the 2022 International Telecommunication Union’s World Telecommunications Development Conference (ITU-WTDC) in Kigali, Rwanda earlier this year, disclosed that Nigeria’s ICT industry has recorded incredible growth, leading to socio-economic development not just in the country but also across Africa.
In his words;
“Nigeria has utilized ICT as a driver of socio-economic development not just for herself, but also for the benefit of the sub-region and continent, given its role as a founding member and strategic sponsor of the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA).
“As a country, we have grown from the second generation (2G) to 3G, 4G and now the 5G is about to come on board after conducting a globally-acclaimed transparent auction and awards of two 5G licenses. Also, the country has implemented vigorous financial inclusion initiatives riding on robust digital infrastructure.
“Many achievements of Nigeria in the area of ICT development have been possible through the successful launch and implementation of policies that foster use of ICTs across all sectors to enhance a digital economy.”
The impressive contributions of information and communication technology (ICT) to Nigeria’s GDP, is gradually transforming the country from a traditional economy, into one of Africa’s leading digital economies.
Due to exponential growth of the sector, it has made Nigeria one of Africa’s largest ICT markets in terms of its share of telecom subscribers and internet users. The ICT sector has no doubt continued to remain a critical driver of non-oil growth and a significant contributor to Nigeria’s GDP.
The sector has also been an enabler for digitalization and the development of other key sectors such as Agriculture, Education, Manufacturing, and Healthcare.
The federal government continued played an active role in prioritizing the expansion of the ICT sector in the country through dedicated policies, infrastructure development, and investment promotion, which effectively helped to boost the sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s GDP from less than 1% in 2001 to 18.4% in 2022.
As the digital stage is upon us, given the role the ICT is playing by facilitating businesses, transforming the Educational sector, and the likes, the sector will no doubt continue to remain a priority in the years ahead.