Anambra State is missing among the five major states in Nigeria with the largest internet subscriber base. This is according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
ANAMBRA PEOPLE gathered that Lagos, Ogun, and Kano State led the list of states in Nigeria with the highest number of internet subscribers as of March 2022, jointly accounting for 23.8% of the total internet subscriber base in the country.
Even though Anambra was not listed among the states with the largest internet subscribers in the country, it recorded additional 286,143 subscribers. A further check reveals that Abuja recorded the highest number of internet subscriber increase on a year-on-year basis, with 487,197 additional subscribers to stand at 7.7 million, while Lagos State gained 248,314 additional subscribers.
South East has always had a low internet subscriber base and experts have attributed the low internet penetration in the South East on lack of infrastructure and government involvement to encourage private investors to help build broadband facility in the region. For instance, NBS reported that all the South Eastern states – Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo – had a combined internet subscriber base of 13.7 million in the fourth quarter ended December 2021 (Q4 2021). This is in contrast of the 18.94 million subscribers recorded by Lagos state alone.
Internet subscribers in Nigeria increased marginally by 0.62% year-on-year to 145.85 million as of March 2022 compared to 144.95 million subscribers recorded as of the corresponding period of 2021. MTN Nigeria, Glo, and Airtel led the list of telcos with the highest internet customer base with 60.7 million, 39.57 million, and 39.4 million subscribers respectively.
Breakdown of top states by internet subscribers in ascending order;
5. Abuja – 7.11 million
The country’s capital accounted for 4.9% of the total internet subscribers in the country as of March 2022 at 7.11 million subscribers. Its internet subscribers increased by 487,197 year-on-year from 6.62 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
4. Oyo State – 7.52 million
Oyo State, housing the largest city in West Africa and neighboring states to Lagos and Ogun State recorded total internet subscribers of 7.52 million as of the end of the first quarter of the year, representing 5.2% of the total internet subscribers in the country.
However, the number of internet subscribers in the state reduced by 213,612 from 7.74 million recorded in Q1 2021 to 7.52 million in the review period.
3. Kano State – 8.36 million
In the highly populated state, Kano recorded a total internet subscriber base of 8.36 million as of March 2022, accounting for 5.7% of the total internet subscribers as of the same period. The state recorded 35,336 new subscribers on a year-on-year from 8.33 million recorded as of March 2021.
2. Ogun State – 8.54 million
Ogun State, which is a neighboring state to Lagos and a center for many industries in the country recorded a total internet subscriber base of 8.54 million as of March 2022, which accounts for 5.9% of the total subscribers recorded in the period under review.
However, its subscriber base was reduced on a year-on-year basis, dropping by 155,951 from 8.69 million subscribers recorded as of March 2021 to 8.54 million in Q1 2022.
1. Lagos State – 17.84 million
Lagos State, the economic hub of the nation recorded the highest number of internet subscribers in the review quarter at 17.84 million, representing 12.2% of the total internet subscribers in the country.
The number of internet subscribers in the state increased by 248,314 year-on-year from 17.59 million subscribers recorded as of the same period of 2021 to 17.84 million.
Other States
Kaduna – 6.78 million
Rivers – 5.21 million
Delta – 5.13 million
Edo – 5.08 million
Niger – 4.65 million