The number of mobile subscribers in the northern geo-political regions in Nigeria increased by 7.9 million new mobile subscribers in 2020. This is according to the latest Telecom data report, released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The report revealed that the northern region made of 13 states recorded a 7.96 million new mobile subscribers in the year under review from 51.52 million recorded in 2019 to stand at 59.48 million in 2020. This represents a 15.5% increase in a year.
Generally, the number of mobile subscribers increased by 19.9 million subscribers from 184.7 million recorded in 2019 to 204.6 million in 2020. This increase can be attributed to the increased usage of mobile gadgets and the internet in 2020 due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown which necessitated a work from home policy by most organisations.
Also, most businesses were forced to shut down during this period, including transportation, leaving mobile phone usage as a coping mechanism and the only means to reach out to relatives and friends.
The South-West region of the country, consisting of 6 states accounts for 28.5% of the mobile subscribers in Nigeria, with 58.37 million subscribers as at Q4 2020. The number of subscribers in the region increased by 3.62 million in 2020, indicating an increase of 6.11% in a year.
Lagos State tops the list in this region with a total of 24.88 million subscribers as at Q4 2020, while it recorded of 1.33 million subscribers in the year 2020.
Ogun State follows with a total mobile subscriber base of 12.01 million, while Oyo State total mobile subscribers as at Q4 2020 stood at 10.45 million.
Others include; Osun (4.67 million), Ondo (4.49 million), and Ekiti State with 1.86 million subscribers.
The 8 states in the North-west region of the country accounted for 20.8% of the total mobile subscriber base in Nigeria with 42.53 million subscribers. This represents an increase of 16.9% from 36.39 million recorded as of Q4 2019 to 42.53 million subscribers as of Q4 2020.
Kano State increased its mobile subscriber base from 10.99 million recorded as of Q4 2019 to 12.67 million mobile subscribers at the end of the year.
Kaduna State follows with a total subscriber base of 8.71 million subscribers, growing its numbers by 582,640 from 8.12 million recorded in the reference period.
The number of mobile subscribers in Katsina State stood at 5.69 million as of Q4 2020. An increase of 945,390 new subscribers from 4.75 million subscribers recorded as of Q4 2019.
Others include; Sokoto (3.93 million), Zamfara (3.03 million), Yobe (2.99 million), Kebbi (2.94 million), and Jigawa (2.56 million).