Telephones in use by 222.5 million Nigerians, as reported by NBS
There were 222.6 million telephone subscribers in Nigeria as of the end of 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This figure represents an increase of 27.1 million subscribers compared to the 195.5 million subscribers recorded at the end of 2021. The NBS released these figures in its Telecoms Data: Active Voice and Internet per State, Porting and Tariff Information report for the last quarter of 2022, which was published in Abuja on Monday.
The report further revealed that the figure for the last quarter of 2022 showed a 13.87 percent rise in voice subscriptions on a year-on-year basis. In terms of quarter-on-quarter growth, the report indicated a growth rate of 4.89 percent.
Additionally, the NBS recorded a total of 154.9 million active internet subscribers at the end of 2022, as compared to 142 million subscribers recorded at the end of 2021.
“This represents a 9.07 per cent increase in active internet subscriptions year-on-year, while on a quarter-on-quarter basis, internet subscription grew by 1.35 per cent,’’ it stated.
On state-by-state analysis, the report revealed that Lagos State had the highest number of active telephone users in 2022, totaling 26.5 million subscribers, followed by Ogun State with 13 million users. Kano State ranked third with 12.4 million telephone users.
In contrast, Bayelsa State had the least number of telephone users with only 1.6 million subscribers, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti States with 1.9 million and 2 million users, respectively.
The report also highlighted that Lagos State had the highest number of internet users among the states, with 18.7 million subscribers, followed by Ogun State with 9.2 million subscribers, and Kano State with 8.5 million subscribers.
“On the other hand, Bayelsa recorded the least number of 1.1 million internet users, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1.3 million and 1.5 million subscribers, respectively,’’ it stated.
According to the NBS report, the majority of telephone users in Nigeria in 2022 were subscribers of MTN. (NAN)
