Nigeria is entering a recession again for the second time in four years. The continent's largest economy is entering a recession, after a contraction in its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for the second consecutive quarter. This was announced by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics. The GDP of Nigeria, an oil-producing country, contracted by 3.62% in the third quarter of 2020, after having already fallen by 6% in the previous quarter, said the same source. 

 The Bureau of Statistics explains this sharp decline in Nigeria's GDP – whose cumulative decline over the first nine months amounts to 2.48%" – by the significant impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy, and in particular the fall in oil prices. 

"Over the first nine months of 2020, the cumulative GDP is therefore down by 2.48%," said the Bureau of Statistics. The contribution of oil to Nigeria's GDP contracted in the third quarter by 13.89% against a decline of 6.63% in the second quarter of 2020. At the same time, non-oil economic activities fell by 2.51%. The decline was 6.05% in the second quarter of 2020. 

Nigeria's economy had already been declared recession in 2016, for the first time in two decades. It had recovered in 2017 but had been idling since then. According to the IMF, the country's real economy is likely to be strongly impacted by this new situation. The Fund forecasts a decline in Nigeria's GDP of 5.4% for 2020, while the government envisages a contraction of 8.9%. 

The african continent's largest economy remains its largest oil producer, with about two million barrels produced per day. Even though the Covid-19 epidemic and the fall in fuel prices have reduced production by around 1.4 million barrels.