Telecoms contribute ₦5.2 trillion to Nigeria’s real GDP in Q2 2026 – Innovation Village

The Nigerian telecommunications industry contributed an unprecedented ₦5.199 trillion (approximately ₦5.2 trillion) to the nation’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2026. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirms that the sector now accounts for 9.72% of the country’s economic output, marking its highest proportional share in two years since a 14.58% high nine quarters ago. This represents a 10.61% year-on-year surge from the ₦4.7 trillion (9.2%) recorded during the same period in 2025, underscoring a vigorous recovery and sustained expansion following recent economic shocks.

The Broader Economic Context

 Overall, the Nigerian economy is demonstrating steady macroeconomic momentum. According to the NBS, Nigeria’s real GDP grew by 4.43% year-on-year in Q2 2026, accelerating from 3.89% in the first quarter and surpassing the 4.23% recorded in Q2 2025. The non-oil sector continued to be the fundamental backbone of this expansion, growing by 4.31% in real terms compared to 3.64% in Q2 2025.

The services sector emerged as the undisputed growth engine, expanding by 4.60% and accounting for a massive 56.62% of aggregate GDP. While agriculture showed commendable improvement growing at 4.39% the industrial sector’s growth decelerated to 3.96%. Within this service-led economic expansion, the digital economy comprising Information and Communication (I&C) and Financial Institutions took center stage.

Together, the broader digital economy accounted for a massive 15% of real GDP, injecting ₦8.1 trillion into the total ₦53.47 trillion national economy during the quarter. Put simply, for every ₦100 of economic output generated in Nigeria between April and June 2026, ₦9.72 originated directly from telecommunications operations.