MTN, Airtel push telecoms to 10.38% growth, N5.2 trillion GDP

Nigeria’s telecommunications and information services sector contributed N5.20 trillion to real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2026, driven largely by leading players such as MTN and Airtel.

The sector recorded 10.38% real year-on-year growth in Q2 2026, accelerating from 7.39% in the corresponding quarter of 2025, according to the latest GDP report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Its contribution to real GDP stood at 9.72%, making telecommunications and information services the fourth-largest individual contributor to Nigeria’s real economic output during the quarter.

Nigeria’s overall economy grew by 4.43% year-on-year in real terms, up from 4.23% in Q2 2025, meaning the telecoms and information services sector expanded at more than twice the pace of the wider economy.

What the data is saying

The NBS figures show that telecommunications and information services generated N5.20 trillion in real output, measured at 2019 constant prices, during Q2 2026.

• The sub-sector’s 9.72% contribution to real GDP was up from 9.20% in Q2 2025, while its real growth accelerated from 7.39% to 10.38%.

At the broader sector level, Information and Communication—which includes telecommunications and information services, broadcasting, motion pictures, sound recording and music production, and publishing—grew by 9.62% year-on-year in real terms.

• The sector contributed 11.74% to Nigeria’s total real GDP, up from 11.18% in Q2 2025 and 11.31% in Q1 2026.
• In nominal terms, Information and Communication generated N14.64 trillion, representing 12.27% of aggregate nominal GDP, compared with N10.07 trillion and 10.00% a year earlier.

Its nominal growth accelerated to 45.32% year-on-year during the quarter.

MTN, Airtel performance reflects rising data demand

The expansion in…