South Africa has the most data centres in Africa, more than Nigeria and Kenya combined

South Africa leads the continent's market, with 41 data centres. It has more data centres than Nigeria (15) and Kenya (16), its closest competitors.

Africa's data centre market is nascent, with less than 200 centres.

Source:

Data Center Maps

Period:

November 2024
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South Africa accounts for 22% of Africa’s 282 data centres
  • South Africa leads with 61 facilities, accounting for 21.6% of the continent’s total
  • Nigeria (25) and Kenya (19) complete the top three countries with major digital infrastructure hubs
  • Many countries operate with fewer than five facilities
  • Eighteen countries have just one data centre each
  • As cloud adoption, fintech, streaming, and AI grow, new regional hubs are likely to emerge beyond today’s leaders.
South Africa accounts for 25% of Africa’s 249 data centres
  • Africa had 249 data centres as of February 2026
  • South Africa leads with 61 facilities, accounting for 25% of the continent’s total
  • Nigeria (25) and Kenya (19) complete the top three countries with major digital infrastructure hubs
  • Many countries operate with fewer than five facilities
  • A dozen countries have just one data centre
  • Infrastructure concentration means cross-border data dependence for many smaller economies.
  • As cloud adoption, fintech, streaming, and AI grow, new regional hubs are likely to emerge beyond today’s leaders.
Rack Centre leads Nigeria’s data centre in live capacity at 13.5 MW across its 2 centres
  • Rack Centre leads Nigeria’s live capacity with 13.5 MW
  • Africa Data Centres (10 MW) and Equinix (8.8 MW) form the next tier of large operators
  • Lagos dominates capacity, reinforcing its role as Nigeria’s primary digital infrastructure hub
  • Several operators have major expansion plans, including Africa Data Centres (+10.65 MW addition) and OADC Lagos (+24.5 MW addition)
Lagos houses 21 of 25 data centres, accounting for 84% of the nation’s centres
  • Lagos hosts 21 of Nigeria’s 25 data centres.
  • Only Lagos, Abuja, and Kano currently host data centres.
  • Abuja holds 12% of the country’s data centres despite being the capital.
  • Kano’s single facility accounts for just 4% and highlights the limited digital infrastructure in northern Nigeria.
  • The distribution shows a high geographic concentration risk; national digital operations rely heavily on Lagos.
  • Lagos’ dominance reflects its advantages: commercial activity, connectivity, and proximity to submarine cable landings.
Seven of Africa's top 10 streamers on Twitch and Kick are Nigerians
  • Ilyas El Maliki is Africa’s most followed streamer, with 846,900 followers on Kick.
  • Nigeria dominates the top ten, contributing seven streamers to the list.
  • Nigeria’s top streamers have a combined 1.35 million followers, showing a strong concentration of influence.
  • Follower distribution drops sharply after the top two.
  • Streaming influence in Africa is country-clustered rather than evenly distributed across the continent.
  • Platforms such as Twitch and Kick are enabling African creators to compete globally.
Nathaniel Bassey's livestream crosses one million concurrent viewers, ranking among YouTube’s global top 10 in 2025
  • Nathaniel Bassey Main peaked at 1.02 million concurrent viewers, ranking 6th globally among YouTube’s most-watched livestreams in 2025.
  • Nigeria is one of the few countries to cross the one-million peak viewer mark, alongside major global entertainment creators.
  • Religious livestreams account for multiple top-ranking events, indicating strong real-time engagement beyond music and entertainment.
  • Peak viewership is tightly clustered at the top, with only about 700,000 viewers separating 1st and 10th place.
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