Nigeria has been projected to lead the next wave of mobile subscription growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, helping the continent to achieve 613 million connections by 2025.
According to the global body of mobile operators (GSMA), there will be 100 million additional subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa between now and 2025.
GSMA noted that Nigeria, which has the largest population in Africa, continues to drive subscription growth on the continent. This will be sustained in the next 3 years despite the current level of mobile penetration in the country.
In driving the mobile growth, Nigeria is followed by Ethiopia, the continent’s second most-populated, whose population is put at 120 million.
New subscribers: While making the projections for 2025 in its ‘Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2022’, GSMA said:
- “By the end of 2021, 515 million people subscribed to mobile services in Sub-Saharan Africa, representing 46% of the population – an increase of almost 20 million on 2020. There will be nearly 100 million new subscribers by 2025, taking the total number of subscribers to 613 million (50% of the region’s population). The two most populated countries – Nigeria and Ethiopia – will account for almost a third of new subscribers in the period to 2025.”
Of the total new subscribers projected, Nigeria is to add 18 million in the next 3 years, followed by Ethiopia with 12 million.
Factors driving the growth: GSMA noted that Sub-Saharan Africa’s demography, with a sizeable proportion of the population under the age of 18, means that subscriber growth will remain strong for the foreseeable future as young consumers move into adulthood and are able to subscribe to mobile services.
- “Young subscribers are more likely to be tech-savvy and keen on adopting mobile internet services, particularly more advanced 4G and, where available, 5G services. This is one trend to watch, given the implications for high-speed connectivity and the creation and distribution of digital services in the region,” the report said.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that as of October this year Nigeria’s active mobile subscriptions stood at 214.3 million. This shows that the country’s mobile subscription database has grown by 19.2 million this year as the figure stood at 195 million in December 2021.