Dare Babalola
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has reacted to the recent rebasing of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The Centre, in a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Muda Yusuf on Sunday hailed the NBS, describing the decision to rebase the GDP to a new base year of 2019 as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s economic management efforts.
According to the CPPE, there’s a need for more frequent and timely GDP re-basing exercises to ensure that economic data remains current and relevant for policy and investment decisions.
The statement read, “The CPPE urges that future re-basing exercises be conducted more regularly and in a timely manner, in line with global standards, to maintain the relevance and credibility of Nigeria’s economic data.”
Highlighting the importance of the rebasing, the CPPE said, “This provides a more realistic and comprehensive picture of the economy, which is essential for effective policy formulation, planning, and investment decisions.
“The availability of more current and robust data enables both public and private sector stakeholders to make better-informed decisions. Investors, policymakers, and development partners can now rely on more accurate statistics to assess opportunities and risks.
“The re-basing allows for more credible calculation of key GDP-related ratios, such as debt-to-GDP, tax-to-GDP, revenue-to-GDP, credit-to-GDP, and fiscal deficit-to-GDP. These ratios are vital for assessing the health and sustainability of the economy, and for benchmarking Nigeria’s performance against global peers.
“The updated GDP figures facilitate more meaningful international comparisons, providing clearer guidance for foreign investors and supporting Nigeria’s integration into the global economy. This transparency is expected to boost investor confidence and attract foreign direct investment.
“The re-basing exercise has improved the accuracy of sectoral contributions, revealing shifts in the economic landscape and highlighting emerging sectors that were previously underrepresented.”
Earlier, the NBS said Nigeria’s GDP stood at N372.8 trillion in 2024, after the base year for calculating the figure was shifted to 2019.
The NBS, which made this known in a report published Monday titled “Rebasing of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)”, said the rebased GDP figures were arrived at using a base year of 2019.
It said, “In nominal terms, the rebased GDP for 2019 stood at N205.09trillion, N213.63 trillion in 2020, N243.30 trillion in 2021, N274.23 trillion in 2022, N314.02 trillion in 2023, and N372.82 trillion in 2024.
“This revision represents a 41.7% increase in nominal estimates compared to a 59.7% revision in the 2010 rebasing exercise.”
According to the NBS report, the rebased nominal GDP at basic prices in 2019 reflected a 41.7% increase over the 2019 nominal GDP calculated using the old 2010 base year. This upward revision continued in subsequent years, with the rebased figures showing increases of 39.0% in 2020, 38.7% in 2021, 36.1% in 2022, 34.6% in 2023, and 35.4% in 2024.
The report noted that the real GDP growth post-rebasing is estimated at -6.96% in 2020 during the covid pandemic, 0.95% in 2021, 4.32% in 2022, 3.04% in 2023 and 3.38% in 2024.
According to the report, the agricultural sector led in growth, recording its highest rate of 2.66% in 2020. In contrast, both the industrial and services sectors experienced contractions that year, with the industry sector shrinking by 22.72% and the services sector by 5.37%.
In January, NBS announced the rebasing of Nigeria’s GDP data, with 2019 selected as the new base year.
This decision, according to the NBS, was driven by the year’s status as a period of “relative economic stability” compared to other recent years, which were marked by significant economic shocks.
