Nigeria’s internet penetration rose to 48.15 per cent in April 2025, according to data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), marking a steady upward trend in recent months despite the country missing its national broadband target.
The increase, up from 47.73 per cent in March 2025, was disclosed by the NCC in its industry statistics published in line with Section 89 Subsection 3(d) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA 2003), which mandates the Commission to monitor and report on telecommunications sector performance.
The April figure represents the highest internet penetration since it dropped to 41.56 per cent in September 2024. A recovery began in October at 42.24 per cent, followed by incremental growth in November (43.16 per cent), December (44.43 per cent), January 2025 (45.61 per cent), and February (46.58 per cent), leading to March’s 47.73 per cent.
However, the country remains behind on its target of 70 per cent broadband penetration by the end of 2025, as outlined in the National Broadband Plan (NBP 2020–2025).
Despite the upward trend in internet penetration, data usage recorded a drop in April. The NCC reported total data usage at 983,283.43 terabytes, down from 995,876.10 terabytes in March. The decline follows a similar dip earlier in the year, when data consumption fell from over one million terabytes in January to 893,054.80 terabytes in February. That slump was accompanied by a loss of nearly one million internet subscribers.
The Commission stated that telecommunications operators are required to submit data regularly as part of their license obligations. These statistics help the NCC analyse industry trends, including service delivery, pricing, subscriber growth, and competition across the sector.
