NBS: Nigerians spent N54trn on household consumption in six months

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says spending by Nigerian residents rose to N54.84 trillion in nominal terms in the first half of 2021.

The figure is higher than N48.22 trillion recorded in the first half of 2020.

The NBS disclosed this in its recent Expenditure and Income Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report released on Monday.

According to the bureau, the expenses incurred by Nigerian households increased by 13.7 percent in the last six months of 2021 (H1) when compared with the corresponding period of 2020.

However, it was 7.45 percent lower than the N59.25 trillion spent by Nigerian households in the second half of last year.

Household final expenditure is the amount of final consumption expenditure made by resident households to meet their everyday needs, such as food, clothing, housing (rent), energy, transport, durable goods (notably cars), health costs, leisure, and miscellaneous services.

The report shows that the final expenditure for households on consumption increased by 8.90 percent in Q1 and 19.08 percent in Q2 of 2021.

The report also revealed that household consumption accounted for the largest share of real GDP at market prices which stood at 53.68 percent and 51.82 percent in Q1 and Q2 2020, respectively, compared to 76.83 percent and 72.88 percent posted in the corresponding quarters of 2021.

The report further shows that the final consumption expenditure of non-profit institutions serving households stood at N504.38 billion, which is 18.6 percent higher than N425.29 billion recorded in the previous period.

Also, the compensation of employees during the first and second quarters of 2021 grew by 9.26 percent and 19.44 percent, respectively, in real terms on a year-on-year basis. For 2020, the growth rate stood at 0.96 percent compared to 8.99 percent in 2019.

On the other hand, the report said national disposable income declined by 2.25 percent in the first quarter of 2021 and 5.35 percent in the second quarter of 2021. 

In the first quarter of 2021, Nigeria’s real GDP grew by 0.51 percent on a year-on-year basis showing a steady improvement in the economy, following the 2020 Q4 GDP rate of 0.11 percent. 

It improved further in the second quarter of 2021 with a positive GDP growth rate of 5.01 percent — posting strongest growth since the fourth quarter of 2014.