Nigeria’s internet users set a new monthly data consumption record in May 2026, consuming 1.5 million terabytes of data as the country’s digital economy continues to expand.
The latest industry data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that data consumption reached its highest monthly level ever recorded during the month.
The surge reflects Nigerians’ growing reliance on high-speed internet services, with more subscribers migrating from older network technologies to 4G and 5G. Faster networks have, in turn, enabled greater consumption of video, social media, streaming, e-commerce and other data-intensive digital services.
The growth is also being driven by the rapid expansion of Nigeria’s digital content-creation ecosystem, as more individuals and businesses use online platforms to produce, distribute and consume digital content.
3G Usage Continues to Decline
While overall data consumption continues to rise, the use of 3G networks is steadily declining. Only 5.10% of mobile connections were on 3G as of May 2026, highlighting the continued transition towards faster-generation networks.
Internet subscriptions also increased across Nigeria’s four major mobile networks MTN, Airtel, Globacom and T2.
According to NCC data, active mobile internet subscriptions rose from 154.3 million in April to 157 million in May, representing an increase of about 2.7 million connections in one month.
MTN Nigeria remained the market leader with 83.5 million internet subscriptions, followed by Airtel Nigeria with 55.8 million.
Globacom recorded 16.8 million subscriptions, while T2 had 802,534 internet connections.
Nigerians Now Consume Nearly 50,000TB of Data Daily
The latest figures reinforce an earlier observation by the NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida, who said Nigerians were consuming approximately 45,800 terabytes of data every day.
Maida said the daily consumption rate had pushed total data usage in March 2026 to 1.42 million terabytes, compared with about 995,000 terabytes recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.
Based on the May figure, Nigeria’s average daily data consumption has now climbed to approximately 48,518 terabytes, pointing to sustained and accelerating demand for internet services.
The NCC chief has attributed the growth to the rapid expansion of Nigeria’s digital economy, including digital payments, e-commerce, startups, digital literacy programmes and emerging technologies.
Content Creation Fuels Data Explosion
Industry analysts also believe Nigeria’s booming creator economy is playing an increasingly important role in driving data consumption.
The growing monetisation opportunities available on platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and X have encouraged more Nigerians to create and distribute video and other forms of digital content.
Lagos-based telecom consultant Adewale Adeoye said the proliferation of content creation was contributing significantly to the growth in data usage.
“Almost every Nigerian is now a content creator.”
According to Adeoye, the constant uploading and consumption of videos and other digital content means that data demand will continue to rise as more Nigerians participate in the digital economy.
Data Becomes Key Revenue Driver for Telcos
The dramatic increase in data consumption is also strengthening data revenue for telecommunications operators, with internet services increasingly becoming a major source of income for the industry.
However, the growth comes with significant infrastructure demands.
As more Nigerians consume bandwidth-intensive services, operators face increasing pressure to expand network capacity, upgrade existing infrastructure and improve service quality.
Earlier this year, the NCC disclosed that telecommunications operators invested more than N2.5 trillion in network infrastructure in 2025, amid efforts to address persistent service-quality challenges across the country.
The Commission also said operators had committed to upgrading 12,000 network sites in 2026 as part of efforts to improve connectivity and service delivery.
With data consumption approaching 1.5 million terabytes a month, Nigeria’s telecommunications industry is entering a new phase in which network capacity, broadband expansion and infrastructure investment will become increasingly critical to sustaining the country’s digital transformation
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