Nigeria’s active telephone subscriptions rose to 179.64 million at the end of December 2025, reflecting sustained growth in mobile connectivity and increasing demand for data services, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The latest industry figures show that active mobile lines increased from 177.43 million in November to 179.64 million in December, lifting the country’s teledensity to 82.87 per cent.
Teledensity measures the number of active telephone connections—mobile and fixed—per 100 inhabitants and is widely used to gauge telecom penetration, infrastructure development and overall economic activity. It also highlights gaps in access between urban and rural areas.
Subscriber data released by the NCC indicate that MTN Nigeria retained its market leadership with 93 million users, representing 51.87 per cent of total subscriptions. Airtel Nigeria followed with 60.8 million subscribers and a 33.9 per cent market share.
Globacom ranked third with 22.2 million users, accounting for 12.4 per cent of the market, while T2 (formerly 9mobile) ended the year with 3.22 million subscribers, translating to a 1.80 per cent share.
On network technology, 4G remained the most widely used, accounting for 52.95 per cent of all connections. This was followed by 2G at 37.37 per cent and 3G at 5.91 per cent. Although still emerging, 5G—now in its fourth year of operation in Nigeria—accounted for 3.77 per cent of total connections, indicating steady uptake.
The report also recorded a sharp rise in data consumption, with total usage surpassing 13.2 million terabytes in 2025, highlighting Nigerians’ growing reliance on streaming platforms, digital services, social media and e-commerce.
Broadband adoption continued to improve alongside rising data demand. Internet subscriptions increased to 112.67 million in December, pushing broadband penetration to 51.97 per cent, up from 50.58 per cent in November.
Overall, the NCC data underscore the telecommunications sector’s growing role in driving Nigeria’s digital economy, with expanding connectivity, higher data usage and broader broadband access shaping consumer behaviour and business activities nationwide.
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