Nigeria’s telecommunication sector has proven to be one of the biggest gainers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector recorded an 18.10% growth in Q2 2020. This is according to the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
According to the GDP report, the telecommunication sector grew by 18.1% in real terms during the second quarter of 2020, compared to 11.34% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2019, and 9.71% in the previous quarter (Q1 2020).
The COVID-19 induced lockdown significantly disrupted the Nigerian economy in the second quarter of 2020. However, the telecommunication sector came out resilient, driven by increased demand for data usage and growth in the number of mobile subscribers.
Broadly, the Information and Communication sector is comprised of the four activities of Telecommunications and Information Services, Publishing, Motion Picture, Sound Recording, and Music Production; and Broadcasting.
Information and Communication (ICT), as a broad sector, grew by 15.1% and contributed 17.87% to the total value of real GDP (N15.9 trillion) in the quarter.
In Q2 2020, the telecommunication sector grew by 18.1% year-on-year, while it grew by 24.8% quarter-on-quarter. This is the biggest growth the telecom sector would record since Q4 2018, when the telecom sector posted a GDP growth of c.19%.