Mobile Subscription in Nigeria Rises to 222.23 million

The number of mobile subscriptions in Nigeria rose to 222.23 million in 2022 despite the implementation of the Federal Government’s National Identification Number-Subscriber Identity Module policy.

At the start of the policy in April, over 72.77 million active telecommunication subscriptions were barred from making calls. But the industry has since shaken off the effect of this and grew by 13.89 percent in 2022.

According to new data from the Nigerian Communications Commission, the total number of subscriptions grew from 195.13 million as of December 2021 to 222.23 million as of December 2022.

This growth signified a complete shake-off of the decline that plagued the telecoms industry in 2021 when the total number of mobile subscriptions declined by 4.42 percent from 204.15 million as of December 2020 to 195.13 million as of December 2021.

In the period under review, MTN Nigeria grew by 20.96 percent from 73.59 million to 89.02 million; Airtel grew by 11.38 percent from 53.93 million to 60.07 million; Globacom grew by 9.98 percent from 54.82 million to 60.29 million; and 9mobile grew by 0.49 percent from 12.85 million to 12.79 million.

In 2022, teledensity, the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants living within an area grew to 116.60 percent the  (highest on record).

Nigeria’s mobile population is the largest in Africa and is expected to continue to grow because of its large youth population. According to GSMA, the global body representing telcos, 18 million new Nigerians will become unique mobile subscribers by 2025.

Punch/Hauwa Abu