Nigeria’s internet usage surged sharply in 2025, with national data traffic projected to exceed 13.2 million terabytes (TB), representing a 35 per cent increase over 2024, according to figures from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The growth reflects the country’s rapidly expanding digital ecosystem, driven by mobile and broadband adoption, streaming, online services, and increasing smartphone penetration.
Data from the NCC shows that national internet traffic has been steadily rising since January 2023. Major providers including MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, and T2 recorded 7.27 million TB in 2023, which climbed to 9.76 million TB in 2024—a year-on-year increase of 34.3 per cent. Between January and November 2025 alone, consumption reached 11.86 million TB, up from 8.79 million TB in the same period last year, equating to an additional 3.07 million TB and averaging more than 41,000 TB of data used daily.
The NCC data also shows pronounced seasonality in usage, with December consistently emerging as the peak month. In 2024, December traffic exceeded November by 94,502 TB, driven largely by holiday travel, video streaming, social media activity, and online shopping. Analysts attribute the growth to cheaper smartphones, wider mobile internet access, rising video content, cloud services, remote-work tools, and the continued digitalisation of businesses and public services.
Broadband penetration in Nigeria crossed the 50 per cent mark in November 2025 for the first time, a historic milestone, although it remains below the 70 per cent target set under the National Broadband Plan (2020–2025). Telecom analyst Osita Odafi noted that the surge underscores how streaming platforms, fintech services, cloud computing, and smartphone adoption are reshaping communication, work, and entertainment patterns across the country.
Airtel Nigeria CEO Dinesh Balsingh highlighted urbanisation as a key driver of demand, saying: “Cities like Lagos are growing at lightning speed with more people, more businesses, more devices. We recognise that data is the new oxygen. That is why we are investing heavily in 5G and fibre to build a smart, scalable network that can carry the weight of Nigeria’s digital future.”
Despite the growth, infrastructure strain remains a concern. NCC Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Aminu Maida acknowledged improvements in service quality but stressed the need for further enhancements, urging operators to invest in capacity expansion and customer experience.
Analysts warn that sustaining the growth trajectory will require faster execution of the 90,000-kilometre national fibre rollout under Project BRIDGE, removal of right-of-way bottlenecks, resolution of multiple taxation issues, and improved security to protect infrastructure from vandalism. With these measures, experts believe Nigeria’s current data boom may represent only the beginning of a broader digital transformation.
