Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Nigeria
Nigeria: Share of the population that owns a mobile phone was 69.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
69.5%
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
149th
of 182 countries
All-time high
71.4%
in 2021
All-time low
40.7%
in 2017
Years of data
7
2017–2024
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Nigeria, 2017–2024
Source: International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 69.5% for share of the population that owns a mobile phone in 2024.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 70.8% over ten years.
That places Nigeria 149th out of 182 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 40.7% | — |
| 2019 | 62.6% | +53.8% |
| 2020 | 67.3% | +7.5% |
| 2021 | 71.4% | +6.1% |
| 2022 | 69.3% | -2.9% |
| 2023 | 69.3% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 69.5% | +0.3% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 69.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 75.4%, 92% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 69.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 69.1%, 1.0× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 51.7% | 40.7% | 62.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 69.4% | 67.3% | 71.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More science & technology data for Nigeria
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 70.76 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 0.7076 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0007 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 164.65 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 246.4 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate -28.14 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate -26.63 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 9,799 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Nigeria?
- Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Nigeria was 69.5% in 2024, according to International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population that owns a mobile phone recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 71.4% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of the population that owns a mobile phone recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.7% in 2017.
- How does Nigeria rank for share of the population that owns a mobile phone?
- Nigeria ranks 149th out of 182 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population that owns a mobile phone rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 70.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population that owns a mobile phone. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex (%).