Nigeria stands at the forefront of telecom growth rates in Africa, with an extraordinary acceleration projected for the upcoming years. Recent reports suggest that the country is poised to accrue a colossal 182 million subscriber base by 2020. This news is both impressive and startling, particularly considering that the current total population of Nigeria is approximately 181.6 million.
This projection, sourced from a comprehensive study conducted by Pyramid Research, a frontrunner in providing market analysis and consulting services to the communications industry, forecasts the Nigerian telecommunications market to skyrocket and generate an astounding $10.9 billion in 2019, up from $9.2 billion in 2013.
Although the telecom market’s growth was predicted to experience a temporary dip in 2015 due to a large number of fixed-line disconnections, this hiccup likely won’t hinder the long-term expansion of the sector. The report predicts that the telecom market will experience a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2% over the next five years, with mobile data, driving the growth, expected to see an impressive 16 percent increase until 2019.
“Political instability and low oil prices have led to a depreciation of the Naira against the US Dollar, but the telecommunications market will remain an integral part of the country’s efforts to diversify its sources of growth,” says the report.
The robust growth of mobile technology in Nigeria is now a trendsetter on the African continent. The escalating demand for mobile data in the country will offer existing service providers, as well as incoming market players, ample opportunity to experiment, innovate, and expand their service offerings. “Nigeria’s telecommunications market, despite recent currency fluctuations, continues to offer potent growth rates of roughly 6.8 percent annually for the period between 2014 and 2019,” comments Severin Luebke, an Analyst at Pyramid Research.
With 182 million subscribers projected by 2020, the vast Nigerian market will remain the largest hub for mobile subscriptions throughout Africa.
In a related development, the Nigerian Federal Government recently revealed its ambitious plan to connect an estimated 1.6 million Nigerians in rural communities to a plethora of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) platforms by year’s end. To this end, the construction of 158 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) sites will be completed through the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF). A remarkable initiative by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the USPF aims to extend telecommunications services to unserved or underserved regions within Nigeria, offering multiple subsidies to telecom operators willing to establish in these target areas.
This article was updated in 2025 to reflect modern realities.
Paul Balo is the founder of TechBooky and a highly skilled wireless communications professional with a strong background in cloud computing, offering extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing wireless communication systems.
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