Nigeria: Manufacturing Remains Largest Contributor to Nigeria's Industrial Output, Employment - Report

What the report says

A Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) report says manufacturing has become the biggest contributor to Nigeria’s industrial output, rising to 50.1% in the first quarter of 2026 from 28.2% in 2010. The study, cited by This Day and distributed by AllAfrica, also says manufacturing remained the leading source of industrial jobs, accounting for 76.5% of total industrial employment in 2023.

The report places manufacturing ahead of other industrial subsectors, with construction and oil and gas also important contributors to output. It says manufacturing growth improved in early 2026 after several quarters of slower performance, though the sector still faces long-running structural weaknesses. These include low capacity utilisation, modest productivity growth, and a contribution to real GDP that stayed below 10% during the period under review.

NESG argues that Nigeria needs a manufacturing-led industrial push to strengthen economic transformation and take better advantage of opportunities linked to the African Continental Free Trade Area. The report says this would require less dependence on crude oil exports, more local value addition, and stronger non-oil exports.

The findings also point to financing constraints. NESG says manufacturing’s share of bank credit fell from 12.2% in H1 2025 to 8.3% in H1 2026, while foreign investment inflows into the sector remained limited. The broader message is that industrial growth has been concentrated, but deeper investment and competitiveness challenges continue to limit the sector’s wider economic impact.