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Creative economy: film, music and entertainment
Small in GDP terms but one of the fastest-growing activities, and Nigeria's best-known export of culture. Nollywood out-earned Hollywood at West African cinemas in 2025.
Creative and entertainment in numbers
Latest official figures. Shares and growth are in real terms (2019 prices) unless marked nominal.
Growth against the economy
What drives the sector
Streaming and digital platforms
Global streaming services and YouTube have opened new audiences and revenue.
Cinema growth
New screens and family audiences around holidays drive the box office.
Music exports
Afrobeats artists earn more from global streaming and touring.
Intellectual property
Piracy and weak royalty collection reduce creators' income.
Regulators and main players
Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy
Policy and promotion.
National Film and Video Censors Board
Film classification.
Nigerian Copyright Commission
Copyright registration and enforcement.
Distributors, cinemas and labels
Film distributors, cinema chains and record labels.
What to watch
We do not publish forecasts. These are the signals we follow for this sector.
Box office reports
Weekly and annual figures from distributors and the cinema association.
Streaming deals
Licensing and commissioning by global platforms.
NBS data
Quarterly growth for arts and for film and music production.
Incentives
Tax and funding schemes for creative businesses.
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