Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s latest statistical bulletin has revealed that household consumption in Nigeria dropped from N45.41 trillion in 2023 to N31.12 trillion in 2024.
This represents a real decline of about N14.29 trillion or approximately 31 per cent year-on-year, indicating a major contraction in the volume of goods and services consumed by households.
The data signals that households are cutting back materially on what they can afford, not just paying more for the same items.
Household consumption at current prices rose from N146.69 trillion in 2023 to N173.01 trillion in 2024, an increase of about N26.31 trillion or nearly 18 per cent.
The steep fall in real household spending is consistent with the sustained double-digit inflation that characterised the year. Nigeria’s headline inflation rate began 2024 at 29.90 per cent in January, up from around 28.9 per cent in December 2023, reflecting continued pressure on prices early in the year.
Throughout 2024, inflation climbed further, with official data showing it reached around 34.80 per cent in December 2024, one of the highest annual rates in the decade.
The year-on-year inflation acceleration over 2024 was driven by persistent increases in food and other essential prices and was marginally higher at the end of the year compared with November.
The persistent high inflation through 2024 compounded the cost-of-living squeeze on Nigerian households.
