Posted Mon, May 18, 2020 8:39 AM

NESG Consumption Expenditure Alert

Nigeria’s Consumption Expenditure stood at N40.2 trillion in 2019

Nigerian Consumption expenditure on food and non-food items in 2019 almost doubled relative to 2009 figure

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics recently published its report on Consumption Expenditure Pattern in Nigeria for 2019. The report shows that Nigeria’s total consumption expenditure on food and non-food items in 2019 stood at N40.2 trillion. This represents an 86 per cent increase from N21.6 trillion recorded in 2009/2010 - almost double within a decade. The consumption figure as reported depicts the level of aggregate demand and welfare in the economy. This by extension suggests improved aggregated demand over the past ten years, which amounts to 55.8 per cent share of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019.

Nigerians spent more on food items than on non-food items in 2019. However, the share of food in total expenditure declined from 60.2 per cent in 2009 to 56.7 per cent in 2019. For non-food expenditure, its share in total expenditure increased to 43.3 per cent in 2019 from 39.8 per cent in 2009. This implies that food consumption gave way for more sophisticated consumption despite its dominance. This speaks volume about the evolution of Nigeria’s development; as an economy moves up the ladder of development, the household consumption pattern tilts towards non-food items and the share of food expenditure shrinks. However, when Nigeria’s share of food expenditure in total expenditure is compared with that of countries such as Mexico (35.3 per cent – 2018) and Indonesia (31.6 per cent – 2018), Nigeria lags behind.

Expansion in non-food expenditure more than doubled in the past decade; food expenditure expanded by 75%

In 2019, Nigerians spent a sum of N22.8 trillion across 19 food categorizations up from N13 trillion recorded in 2009. This represents a 75 percent increase in food expenditure over the past ten years. Expenditure on non-food items stood at N17.4 trillion in 2019 up by 102.56 percent from N8.6 trillion in 2009. A breakdown of total expenditures by categories shows that Food Consumed Outside of Home, accounted for 11.4 percent of total consumption expenditure; and 20.2 percent of total food expenditure in 2019. The order of consumption expenditure items provides an insight into what Nigerian households spend their income on, which could be a useful guide for real sector investors/entrepreneurs and for government policymaking.

Download the complete research document to learn more ...