Nigeria’s economy grew faster than anticipated in the third quarter, buoyed by its services and oil sectors.

GDP expanded an annual 3.46% in the three months to September, compared with growth of 3.19% in the previous quarter, according to data released by the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. The median estimate of six economists in a Bloomberg survey was 2.86%.

South African companies with investments in Nigeria, including telecommunications operator MTN Group and broadcaster MultiChoice Group, have been severely affected in recent years by economic instability in the West African nation.

The oil sector grew 5.17% as production increased to 1.47 million barrels per day, from 1.45 million barrels a year earlier, as it addresses security concerns and ageing infrastructure,

The sector is expected to receive a further boost from the start of petrol production at Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s mega oil refinery in September, and an increase in its processing rate to 420 000 barrels per day, as well as new fields coming online.

The 2025 budget to be presented by President Bola Tinubu on 27 November assumes crude output increasing to 2.06 million barrels a day and an oil price of $75/ barrel, which, if achieved, may further lift growth.

Services

The non-oil sector grew 3.37% in the period, from 2.8% a year ago, mainly driven by the services sector, which expanded 5.19%, contributing more than half to the aggregate GDP, the statistics agency said.

Read: MultiChoice will ride out Nigeria chaos

Agriculture output slowed to 1.1% from 1.4% in the prior three months, after recent floods washed away crops that the United Nations estimates would have fed 8.5 million for six months. — Nduka Orjinmo, with Simbarashe Gumbo and Paul Richardson, (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP