Nigeria’s manufacturing sector expanded by 1.60% year-on-year in real terms during the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This represents an improvement compared with the same period of 2024 but shows slower momentum when measured against the first quarter (Q1) of 2025.
The growth rate was 0.47 percentage points higher than the 1.13% recorded in Q2 2024 but 0.09 percentage points lower than the 1.69% posted in Q1 2025.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector contracted by 15.81%, showing underlying weakness despite positive annual growth.
In nominal terms, the sector grew by 4.51% year-on-year in Q2 2025, below the 7.65% recorded in the same quarter of 2024 and sharply lower than the 42.40% reported in Q1 2025.
Quarter-on-quarter, nominal growth stood at -31.72%, indicating a steep decline in value terms. The contribution of manufacturing to nominal GDP fell to 6.87%, compared to 7.84% in Q2 2024 and 10.78% in Q1 2025.
Manufacturing’s contribution to real GDP in Q2 2025 was 7.81%, down from 8.01% in Q2 2024 and 9.62% in Q1 2025.
The sector, which comprises thirteen sub-industries including oil refining, cement, food and beverages, textiles, chemicals, basic metals, and motor vehicles, remains a key part of Nigeria’s economic structure but has continued to face challenges related to foreign exchange shortages, energy supply, and high input costs.
Analysts note that while the sector managed to post year-on-year growth, the sharp quarter-on-quarter declines in both nominal and real terms highlight persistent structural bottlenecks.
The weaker contribution to GDP also raises concerns over Nigeria’s industrialization and economic diversification agenda, particularly as oil and services continue to account for larger shares of output.
Further policy support in energy, infrastructure, and credit access is expected to be critical for sustaining growth in the sector through the rest of 2025.
