CASE STUDIES FROM AFRICA

significant share of services output in GDP. The unimpressive performance, an offshoot of
inefficient and ineffective service delivery of the majority of the services subsectors was
attributed to government restrictive policies embodied in long periods of market
restrictions, dominant government ownership, use of obsolete technology, weak regulatory
environment, and poor management. 4
In 2013, Nigeria rebased its GDP from 1990 to 2010 as the base year, and it amounted to
N 80.2 trillion (or US$ 509.9 billion) representing an increase of about 89% based on the old
GDP estimate for 2013 which was N42.4 trillion (or US$ 269.5 billion). However, only
preliminary figures were released in April 2014 and details were expected to be released at
the end of June, so it is not possible to update the information shown in Table 2 below on the
contribution of different services sectors to GDP. Nevertheless, the new figures reveal that in
2012 the Nigerian GDP consisted of the following: agriculture, 22.4%; industry, 26.72%; and
crude oil and natural gas, 15.89%. Interestingly, now telecommunications and information
services comprise 8.73% and music production accounts for 1.2% of GDP. The share of
financial services in GDP was 2.29% in 2013; furthermore, the sector grew by 32.3% in
nominal terms in 2013. Overall, according to the new methodology, services comprised
50.9% of GDP in 2012. GDP estimates at the 1990 base year indicated that wholesale and
retail trade was the largest component of the services sector. Next in rank were hotel and
restaurants and then real estate services. Using 2010 as the new base year, wholesale and
retail trade remains the largest component of the services sector, but telecommunication
ranks next, followed by real estate services. 5
Table 2: Share of Services Value Added in Nigerian GDP by Economic Activity
Year
Building &
Construction
Wholesale &
Retail Trade
Road
Transport
Rail
Transport &
Pipelines
Water
Transport
Air Transport
Other
Transport
Services
Telecomm. Post Electricity Water
1985 1.65 13.87 2.46 0.0713 0.21 0.16 0.08 0.06 0.05 0.51 0.1
1986 1.6 14.01 2.13 0.0672 0.15 0.13 0.08 0.06 0.05 0.32 0.11
1991 1.71 13.94 1.83 0.0179 0.11 0.1 0.07 0.05 0.03 0.31 0.14
1996 1.8 13.5 1.92 0.0004 0.1 0.07 0.11 0.06 0.04 0.34 0.15
2001 2.02 12.39 1.87 0.0004 0.09 0.06 0.18 0.67 0.05 3.27 0.14
2006 1.62 14.95 2.4 0.0003 0.06 0.06 0.15 1.77 0.06 3.41 0.13
2012 2.19 19.92 2.41 0.0003 0.05 0.06 0.14 6.98 0.07 2.79 0.16
Year
Hotel &
Restaurant
Financial
Institutions
Insurance Real Estate
Business
Services
Public
Administration
Education
Health
Private
NGOs
Other
Services
Broad
casting
1985 0.26 1.58 0.13 1.77 0.16 1.12 0.25 0.07 0.005 0.33 0.08
1986 0.26 1.87 0.14 1.75 0.17 1.11 0.25 0.07 0.005 0.34 0.07
1991 0.21 4.41 0.15 1.53 0.14 0.95 0.21 0.06 0.002 0.28 0.06
1996 0.2 4.8 0.15 1.61 0.15 0.94 0.21 0.06 0.001 0.45 0.06
2001 0.2 4.86 0.16 1.69 0.15 0.84 0.19 0.05 0.004 0.73 0.09
2006 0.41 3.77 0.13 1.47 0.12 0.72 0.18 0.04 0.003 0.69 0.08
2012 0.55 3.21 0.16 1.85 0.11 0.62 0.21 0.05 0.004 0.83 0.08
Source: Trade Policy Research and Training Programme (2006) and Babatunde (2011). Data between 2010 and 2011 were
computed from CBN Statistical Bulletin, 2012.
Nevertheless, over the last decade, certain changes have taken place in the structure of
output in the services economy, prominent among which is the development of the
4
Bankole, 2004; Bankole and Oyejide, 2005. Electricity services as a share of total output, however, improved
from 2001. But whilst government demonstrated renewed efforts to revive the rail system, it has remained
inactive for many years with obsolete tracks and equipment. Similarly, water transportation has been hampered
by the poor state of water routes.
5
See speech by Dr. Yemi Kale, CEO of the National Bureau of Statistics, April 6. 2014.
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