Nigerians’ data consumption surges to 1.04m terabytes, despite decline in internet users

Data usage in Nigeria surged to an all-time high of 1.04 million terabytes in May 2025, even as internet subscriptions across networks declined, according to the latest industry figures released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The May figure marks the highest monthly data consumption since January 2023, when the telecom regulator began publishing monthly usage statistics. In April, consumption stood at 983,283 terabytes, while the previous record of 1 million terabytes was set in January 2025.

Despite this surge in data usage, the number of active internet subscriptions fell slightly, reflecting the impact of a 50 percent tariff hike implemented by telecom operators across the country.

Total internet subscriptions across mobile, fixed, wired, Internet Service Providers (ISP), and Voice over IP (VoIP) platforms dropped to 141.5 million in May, down from 141.9 million in April.

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), who dominate the internet service landscape, bore the brunt of the decline. Subscriptions on MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile collectively fell from 141.4 million in April to 141 million in May.

Overall active mobile subscriptions also dipped marginally to 172.4 million in May, from 172.6 million the previous month. This drop was driven primarily by subscriber losses at MTN and 9mobile.

MTN, Nigeria’s largest operator by subscriber base, saw its active user count fall by 258,313 to 90.2 million in May from 90.5 million in April. Meanwhile, 9mobile, the fourth-largest operator, lost 291,214 subscribers, reducing its total to 2.6 million from 2.9 million.

In contrast, Airtel gained 342,597 new subscriptions, increasing its user base to 58.9 million from 58.5 million. Globacom’s subscriber base remained unchanged at 20.6 million.

Despite the monthly dip, MTN retained its dominance in market share with 52.33 percent of the mobile market, followed by Airtel at 34.17 percent. Globacom accounted for 11.96 percent, while 9mobile held just 1.55 percent.

The overall reduction in active lines also impacted the country’s teledensity, which declined slightly to 79.65 percent in May from 79.78 percent in April. The NCC calculates teledensity based on a national population estimate of 216 million.

While operators grapple with shifting consumer behaviour in the wake of price increases, the record data consumption underscores growing digital dependency across Nigeria.