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Nigeria’s economy grew at its fastest quarterly pace in five years, with real GDP expanding 4.43% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026.
However a stabilizing naira turned that expansion into a far more dramatic 17% jump when measured in dollar terms Year on Year, the Federal Ministry of Finance said Tuesday, framing the data as evidence the country is accelerating toward its goal of a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
The Q2 figure, confirmed by the National Bureau of Statistics, beat both the 4.23% recorded a year earlier and the 3.89% logged in the first quarter of 2026, lifting first-half growth to 4.16% from 3.68% in H1 2025. Nominal GDP rose to ₦119.29 trillion for the quarter, up from ₦100.73 trillion a year earlier.
The Currency Multiplier
The naira appreciated more than 12% between H1 2025 and H1 2026, a stretch that took the currency from levels well above ₦1,500/$ down to a range around ₦1,338-₦1,365/$ by mid-August, according to the Finance Ministry, supported by a record $53.34 billion in external reserves.
Layered on top of real growth, that currency effect pushed the dollar-denominated size of the economy up by roughly 17% over the period.
“Given this momentum, Nigeria is well positioned to consolidate its standing among Africa’s largest economies and to advance toward the Government’s target of a USD 1 trillion economy by 2030,” the Federal Ministry of Finance said.
“The International Monetary Fund has already ranked Nigeria among the top 10 contributors to global real GDP growth in 2026, projecting the country to account for roughly 1.5 per cent of world growth this year, ahead of several advanced and emerging economies.”
Broader-Based Growth, Not Just Bigger
Twenty-seven economic subsectors grew above 3.0% in Q2 2026, up from 23 a year earlier, per the…
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Read Full Article by Bala Augie at moneycentral.com.ng
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