Internet subscribers in Nigeria increased by 4.3% from 157.6m in March 2023 to 164.4m as of March 2024, an addition of 6.817m new subscribers. Lagos State has the largest share of active internet subscribers in Nigeria, but Nasarawa gained the most new subscribers in one year.
assarawa (604k) got the most new subscribers between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024, followed by Niger (456k) and Kano (387k). Benue (368k) and Kwara (315k) also saw impressive subscriber growth. Bauchi, Taraba, Katsina, Adamawa, and Kogi completed the top ten.
Between 2018 and 2021, adult literacy rates across African nations exhibited significant disparities. Seychelles and South Africa led with literacy rates of 96% and 95%, respectively, indicating a high proportion of literate adults. Conversely, Chad had the lowest literacy rate during this period.
These statistics underscore the uneven progress in educational attainment across Africa, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to improve literacy in lower-performing nations.
The Global Innovation Index 2024 reveals a striking contrast in innovation performance between countries globally and across Africa. Switzerland leads the global rankings with an impressive score of 67.5, followed by Sweden (64.5) and the USA (62.4), highlighting their sustained investments in research, development, and technological advancement.
In Africa, Mauritius takes the top spot with a score of 30.5, followed closely by Morocco (28.8) and South Africa (28.3). However, even Africa's most innovative nations achieve less than half the score of global leaders, indicating a significant innovation gap.
Nigeria ranks 15th in the African ranking and 113th globally, out of 133 countries, with a score of 17.1.
The 2024 Global Peace Index reveals a decline in peacefulness in 97 countries, the highest since the index began.
Nigeria is among the nations affected by regional conflicts and rising violence. With a peace index score of 2.91, Nigeria is facing increasing challenges.
A deteriorating peace score impacts foreign investment and economic stability. Global economic losses due to violence reached $19.1 trillion in 2023.
Over the years, merchants on agency banking platforms have played an important role in bringing the banking system closer to people. They also played a key role during Nigeria's cash crunch in Q1 2023. Despite their importance, there have been reports of people using them to commit fraud, prompting the government's recent decision to have all POS agents registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. As of March 2024, 2.69 million POS terminals had been deployed, including those used as payment options.
In 2023, 1.17 billion smartphones were shipped globally. Samsung and Apple maintained their stronghold on the smartphone market, collectively accounting for 38%, with each brand capturing 19%.
Xiaomi maintained a 12% share after peaking at 14% in 2021. Apple's market share shows a gradual increase from 2020, reaching 19% in 2022 and 2023.
In May 2023, 4G made up 25% of Nigeria's telecoms market; by March 2024, its share had increased to 32.7%. 2G's share of the market went from 58% to 57%, with 3G dropping from 16.5% to 9%. 5G has maintained steady growth from 0.12% to 1.24%.
In 1994, the IBM Simon Personal Communicator, paved the way for a digital revolution. Fast forward to 2017, when smartphone shipments peaked at 1.57 billion units. However, the subsequent six-year period witnessed a 25% decline in shipments.
MTN Nigeria recorded its first loss in 2023 because of a loss of forex. The naira recorded a massive loss to the US dollar in the second half of 2023, with a 95% drop. The company's revenue jumped from ₦1.04 trillion in 2018 to ₦2.47 trillion. While its profit after tax grew alongside the revenue from 2018 to 2022, it dropped from ₦349b to a ₦137b loss in 2023.
In addition to having one of the lowest populations on the continent, Mauritius boasts the greatest broadband penetration rate — 147.39% as of 2022 — of any country in Africa. The eastern African nation's broadband Internet subscribers surpassed its population in 2019.
As of March 2024, there were 219m subscribers in Nigeria's GSM market which is dominated by three players each with over 20% market share. More than 40 mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) have been licensed to date, all of whom will rely on the infrastructure of the country's four mobile network operators to offer their services.
Voice is still king for Airtel Africa, accounting for the largest share of its revenue between 2019 and 2023. However, the revenue from data and Airtel Money, its mobile money services have more than doubled within this period. Revenue from voice and others didn't record a sharp increase unlike data and Airtel Money.
