Nigeria’s digital economy continued to deepen in 2025, with internet usage remaining heavily concentrated in a handful of commercially active and densely populated states.
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This is according to an analysis of active internet subscription data across Nigeria released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) complied from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The data shows that the top 10 states by subscriber base recorded a combined 76.41 million active internet subscriptions as of 2025, representing 51.72% of the country’s total active subscriptions of 147.74 million across the 36 states and the FCT.
The growth reflects rising smartphone adoption, expanding 4G network coverage, increased remote work and digital commerce activities, and sustained demand for online services ranging from fintech to entertainment streaming and e-learning.
What the data is saying
The Nigeria internet space reveals that a few economically active states continue to dominate digital adoption, while others are steadily catching up on the back of urbanization, infrastructure expansion, and rising smartphone penetration.
- The top 10 states represent 51.72% of the national total of 147.74 million subscriptions across the 36 states and the FCT.
- This means over half of Nigeria’s internet subscriptions are concentrated in just 10 states, reflecting where economic activities and connectivity investments are most intense.
- The data also show that these leading states grew from a combined 69.28 million subscriptions as of 2024 to 76.41 million as of 2025, translating to a 10.28% year-on-year increase.
- The total active internet subscription across the 36 states and the FCT increased by 6.29% from 138.99 million subscriptions as of 2024 to 147.74 million as of 2025.
Nigeria’s internet subscription base is dominated by Mobile (GSM) operators, which accounted for 147.40 million subscriptions or 99.77% of the national total of 147.74 million, while VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) accounts for a marginal share of total subscriptions.
Top 10 States with Highest Number of Active Internet Subscriptions as of 2025
Anambra— 4.44 million
Anambra recorded 4.44 million active subscriptions as of 2025, compared to 3.91 million as of 2024, representing a 13.50% increase.
The subscription breakdown is as follows:
- MTN: 2.82 million
- Airtel: 1.32 million
- Glo: 277,315
- EMTS: 6,294
- VoIP: 12,715
The state’s strong entrepreneurial culture, expanding SME ecosystem, high mobile phone usage, and growing e-commerce activities continued to support internet adoption.
Edo— 4.86 million
Edo posts the fastest subscription growth rate among the top 10, with active subscriptions surging by 36.48% year-on-year.
The state’s subscriptions rose from 3.56 million as of 2024 to 4.86 million as of 2025.
The subscription breakdown is as follows:
- MTN: 2.47 million
- Airtel: 1.27 million
- Glo: 1.10 million
- EMTS: 6,338
- VoIP: 9,622
The sharp increase likely reflects accelerated network expansion, rising smartphone affordability, stronger youth participation in digital services, and growing adoption of online education, fintech, and entertainment platforms.
Rivers— 5.31 million
Rivers State recorded 5.31 million subscriptions, up from 4.98 million as of 2024, representing a 6.52% increase.
The subscription breakdown is as follows:
- MTN: 3.21 million
- Airtel: 1.53 million
- Glo: 530,037
- EMTS: 6,801
- VoIP: 27,848
The state continues to benefit from its position as one of Nigeria’s leading oil and commercial centers, with Port Harcourt remaining a major driver of internet demand for businesses and households.
Delta—5.56 million
Delta State recorded a notable rise in internet usage, with subscriptions increasing from 4.56 million as of 2024 to 5.56 million as of 2025.
This represented a robust 21.80% year-on-year growth, one of the highest among the top-performing states.
The subscription breakdown is as follows:
- MTN: 2.98 million
- Airtel: 1.77 million
- Glo: 796,401
- EMTS: 3,740
- VoIP: 8,601
The increase is linked to rising urbanization across Warri, Asaba, and Effurun, increased fintech penetration, stronger youth engagement in digital services, and growing online business activity.
Kaduna— 6.49 million
Kaduna recorded 6.49 million subscriptions, rising modestly from 6.26 million as of 2024, representing a 3.79% increase.
The subscription breakdown is as follows:
- MTN: 3.26 million
- Airtel: 2.69 million
- Glo: 446,816
- EMTS: 36,022
- VoIP: 62,571
The growth was supported by expanding telecom infrastructure, rising youth-driven internet usage, and growing digital entrepreneurship across the state.
FCT— 6.51 million
The Federal Capital Territory emerged as one of the fastest-growing regions among the top 10, recording 6.51 million active subscriptions as of 2025, up from 5.62 million as of 2024.
This represented a significant 15.91% year-on-year increase.
The subscription breakdown is as follows:
- MTN: 3.62 million
- Airtel: 2.04 million
- Glo: 735,753
- EMTS: 70,451
- VoIP: 42,784
The sharp growth reflects Abuja’s rapidly expanding population, increased broadband adoption, rising remote-work culture, and stronger demand for high-speed internet services among government institutions, businesses, and professionals.
Oyo— 6.60 million
Oyo recorded 6.60 million active subscriptions, compared to 6.35 million as of 2024, translating to a 3.94% increase.
The subscription breakdown is as follows:
- MTN: 3.26 million
- Airtel: 2.22 million
- Glo: 1.07 million
- EMTS: 6,884
- VoIP: 36,985
Although growth was slower than several other top states, Oyo continued to maintain a strong subscriber base due to the increasing digitalization of businesses and educational institutions in Ibadan and surrounding areas.
Ogun— 8.88 million
Ogun State posted one of the strongest performances among the top states, recording 8.88 million subscriptions as of 2025, up from 7.91 million as of 2024. This represented a 12.32% year-on-year growth.
The subscription breakdown is as follows:
- MTN: 4.69 million
- Airtel: 3.27 million
- Glo: 926,274
- EMTS: 1,525
- VoIP: 490
The state continues to benefit from spillover from Lagos urban expansion, increasing industrial activity, improved telecom infrastructure along major corridors and population growth in residential clusters around Mowe, Ibafo, Sagamu, and Abeokuta.
Kano— 9.17 million
Kano ranked second with 9.17 million active subscriptions, rising from 8.52 million as of 2024, representing a 7.61% increase year-on-year.
The subscription breakdown is as follows:
- MTN: 4.96 million
- Airtel: 3.63 million
- Glo: 498,257
- EMTS: 43,135
- VoIP: 30,760
The state’s growth was largely supported by its large population base, rising digital adoption across Northern Nigeria, increasing use of mobile banking platforms, and the expansion of telecom services into densely populated urban and semi-urban areas.
Lagos— 18.60 million
Unsurprisingly, Lagos remained Nigeria’s largest internet market by a wide margin.
The state recorded 18.60 million active subscriptions as of 2025, up from 17.62 million as of 2024, representing a 5.53% year-on-year growth.
The subscription breakdown is as follows:
- MTN: 8.93 million (accounting for the largest share of subscriptions)
- Airtel: 6.06 million
- Glo: 3.21 million
- EMTS: 301,626
- VoIP: 98,294
Lagos’ dominance is largely driven by its position as Nigeria’s commercial hub, home to the country’s largest concentration of businesses, financial institutions, startups, and digitally connected consumers. The state also benefits from stronger telecom infrastructure, extensive fiber connectivity, and higher smartphone penetration compared to most parts of the country.
What you should know
Telecom operators continued to consolidate their positions across Nigeria’s largest internet markets, with MTN maintaining clear dominance in subscriber numbers across most states as Nigeria’s largest telecom operator by subscriber base.
- MTN Nigeria maintained leadership across nearly all the top-performing states, recording strong subscriber digits in Lagos, Kano, Ogun, Rivers, and Anambra.
- Airtel Nigeria also retained a significant market share across major states including Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, and Ogun, reinforcing competition within Nigeria’s mobile internet market.
- Globacom continued to maintain a strong presence in several southwestern and southern states, particularly Lagos and Edo.
- Smaller operators including EMTS (9mobile), Smile Communications, IPNX, and 21st Century Technologies contributed relatively smaller volumes but remained active in select urban markets.
Combined, these states contributed more than half of Nigeria’s total internet subscriptions as of 2025, underscoring how digital activity in the country remains concentrated around economically vibrant and highly urbanized regions.
