2022 Macroeconomic Review

Nigeria recorded a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 4.03% (year-on-year) in 2021, exceeding its projected GDP growth rate of 3% for the fiscal year. This modest annual GDP growth came on the back of five consecutive quarters of positive growth, following the country's brief economic recession in 2020 when the economy contracted by 6.10% and 3.62%, respectively, in the second and third quarters of the year.

Nigeria's exit from the 2020 economic recession was weak, as the GDP growth rates for Q4 2020 and Q1 2021 were 0.11% and 0.51%, respectively. The country's economic growth stabilized in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2021, as it recorded positive GDP growth rate of 5.01%, 4.03%, and 3.89, respectively. Admittedly, these growth rates were boosted by the base effect of the economic contractions that Nigeria experienced in 2020 due to the twin shocks of COVID-19 and low crude oil prices. Nonetheless, it is important to note that the country's overall