4G now accounts for about half of Nigeria’s mobile network market as of April 2025; 5G grows slowly

Key Takeaways:

  • The Nigerian subscribers' preference trend shows their acceptance of faster networks.
  • 2G's market share dropped significantly from 58.36% in May 2023 to 39.67% in April 2025.
  • 4G adoption rose steadily from 25.06% to 49.27% within the same period.
  • 5G adoption increased by nearly 23-fold from 0.12% to 2.81%, showing the strongest growth rate in the same period.
  • A major transition occurred around May 2024 when 4G adoption jumped from 34% to 43%.
  • 3G gradually declined from 16.46% in May 2023 to 8.25% in April 2025.

Over the past two years, Nigeria's mobile network internet speed has undergone significant changes. As of April 2025, nearly half of the country's mobile subscribers (49.27%) use 4G services, which is nearly double the market share recorded in May 2023. In contrast, the share of 2G users dropped from over 58% to below 40%, indicating a major shift toward faster internet speeds and improved digital experiences across the country.

Meanwhile, 3G usage has also declined gradually, dropping to just 8.25% in April 2025. Although 5G adoption remains modest, reaching 2.81% by April 2025, its consistent upward trend signals growing acceptance and potential for future expansion.

Source:

Nigerian Communications Commission

Period:

May 2023 - April 2025
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Click to copy HTML embed code
Tags
Related Insights
Africa's cybersecurity score grew from 21 in 2017 to 57 in 2024, a 171% increase
  • Africa’s cybersecurity score increased by 171% between 2017 and 2024.
  • The continent’s score rose from 21 in 2017 to 57 in 2024
  • Africa has reduced the gap with global averages, reducing the difference from 15 points in 2017 to 9 points in 2024.
  • The global cybersecurity score rose from 36 in 2017 to 66 in 2024.
  • Africa’s most notable leap was between 2021 (35) and 2024 (57), showing accelerated progress in recent years.
South Africa leads Africa in internet speed at 42.4 Mbps
  • South Africa sets the benchmark with the fastest average download speed (42.42 Mbps), more than double Morocco’s (19.61 Mbps).
  • Southern African countries dominate the top half of the ranking, with South Africa, Eswatini, Botswana, Lesotho, and Madagascar all featuring strongly.
  • Rwanda and Mauritius show East Africa’s progress, with average speeds above 30 Mbps, signalling solid digital infrastructure growth.
  • Wide disparities persist, with the gap between the highest (South Africa) and lowest (Morocco) averaging over 22 Mbps.
Sudan recorded the least average internet speed in 2024 at just 4.02 Mbps
  • Sudan sits at the bottom with an average speed of 4.02 mbps, far below the continental average.
  • The Central African Republic follows closely at 4.08 mbps, making Central Africa a weak spot for digital connectivity.
  • Somalia, despite topping the list, averaged only 6.64 mbps, showing even the “fastest among the slowest” remains well behind global standards.
  • The concentration of slow speeds in East and Central Africa points to persistent infrastructure and investment gaps.
Fibre cuts caused 52% of mobile network outages in Nigeria between April and July 2025
  • Fibre cuts were responsible for 51.7% of mobile network disruptions between April and July 2025.
  • Power outages followed at 28.1%, making infrastructure issues the dominant cause overall.
  • Together, fibre cuts and power outages accounted for nearly 80% of service disruptions.
  • The “Others” category, which includes congestion, equipment theft, and natural disasters, accounted for 13.9% of disruptions.
  • Infrastructure and environmental factors remain the leading threats to mobile network reliability.
Samsung leads Ghana’s smartphone market with 26.4% share, followed by Tecno (17.7%) and Apple (17.4%)
  • Samsung dominates with 26.42% of Ghana’s smartphone market, making it the clear leader.
  • Tecno (17.7%) and Apple (17.4%) are in a tight race for second place, separated by just 0.3 percentage points.
  • Infinix (10.5%) and Itel (5.2%) highlight the strong presence of Transsion Holdings brands in Ghana.
  • Global giants like Huawei (6.8%) and Xiaomi (2.5%) lag behind, showing Ghana’s preference for budget-friendly African-focused brands.
Samsung commands over half of South Africa’s smartphone market at 51.5% as of July 2025
  • Samsung controls more than half of the South African smartphone market, more than all other brands combined.
  • Apple holds 17.61%, less than half of Samsung’s share, but remains the clear premium alternative.
  • Despite global challenges, Huawei captures 10.03%, placing third in the market.
  • Honor, Xiaomi, and Oppo collectively hold approximately 11.6%, while smaller brands like Tecno, Itel, and Nokia struggle below 2% each.
POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form
A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved