The final consumption expenditure of households in Nigeria hit N13.92 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the recently published Nigerian Gross Domestic Product report (Expenditure and Income Approach), by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In the report, Nigeria’s household consumption rose by 16.59 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020 to stand at N13.92 trillion, compared to N11.94 trillion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2019.
It also represents a 20.76 per cent increase compared to N11.52 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter.
The annual growth rate in real household consumption expenditure stood at 0.81 per cent as against a decline of 1.06 per cent recorded in 2019. Government consumption expenditure recorded growth rates of 99.18 per cent and 12.13 per cent in the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2020 respectively, while the annual growth rate stood at 61.58 per cent in 2020 compared to 8.78 per cent recorded in 2019.
Although Net Exports recorded positive growth rates in the first two quarters of 2020 but turned negative in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. It dipped by 52.39 per cent and 72.61 per cent in the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2020 respectively.
By annual consideration, net export declined by 29.55 per cent in 2020 as against a growth of 7.64 per cent recorded in the previous year.
However, national disposable income grew by 4.44 per cent in the third quarter of 2020 and 3.13 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year, while a 3.34 per cent growth was recorded as the annual growth compared to 0.35 per cent growth recorded in 2019.
Similarly, compensation of employees, dipped by 2.32 per cent in the third quarter of 2020, before recording an increase of 6.36 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year.
The decline in the third quarter could be largely attributed to the downturn caused by the covid-19 pandemic, forcing many organisations in the country to either downsize their staff strength or embark on a pay cut.
In the third and fourth quarters of 2020, real exports declined by 42.05 per cent and 57.79 per cent, year on year, resulting in an annual growth rate of -26.96 per cent in 2020.
Due to declining rates of growth in exports and imports in 2020, the growth in the net balance of trade (or net exports) was negative in the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2020.
On a year-on-year basis, the net trade balance declined by 52.39 per cent in real terms in the third quarter and also dipped by 72.61 per cent in the fourth quarter.
The Nigerian economy expanded marginally by 0.11 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020. It, however, contracted by 1.92 per cent in 2020 to stand at N70.14 trillion in real terms.
