KPMG: Nigeria smartphone ownership rises to 75% as app use expands

Smartphone ownership in Nigeria rose to 75% by 2025, a KPMG study done with Orange Group Nigeria found, signalling wider adoption of mobile internet and applications across the country.

The study surveyed 13,251 respondents across 12 major Nigerian cities and attributed the jump from 64% in 2023 to factors including the country’s large youthful population, improving connectivity and greater smartphone affordability.

KPMG said the increase is translating into more use of digital services across financial services, commerce, entertainment, education and transportation. The report noted that smartphones are evolving beyond communication tools to become enablers of economic participation and enterprise.

Data cited in the report from the Nigerian Communications Commission showed Nigeria had 157 million internet subscribers as of May 2026, and that data consumption exceeded 1.5 million terabytes. The report linked these figures to growing scale and intensity of digital activity as more Nigerians use mobile devices to access online services.

Lawrence Amadi, Partner and Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications at KPMG Africa, warned that gaps remain. “More than a third of mobile subscribers were still on 2G as of May 2026,” he said, a limitation the study said could constrain the depth and quality of digital access.

The report flagged infrastructure shortfalls, affordability, gaps in digital literacy and cybersecurity concerns as factors that could slow inclusive digital development. It underlined that rising smartphone ownership alone will not remove other barriers to digital participation.

On wider digital inclusion, Nairametrics said the report referenced GSMA data showing Nigeria accounted for about 140 million people in the mobile internet usage gap in 2025. That figure represents people who live within the coverage of mobile broadband networks but do not use mobile internet services.

KPMG highlighted continuing growth in data use. Nairametrics also reported that active mobile internet subscriptions rose from 154.3 million in April 2026 to 157 million in May, and that data consumption reached a record 1.5 million terabytes in May.

While the study points to rising ownership and activity, its authors caution policy makers, network operators and businesses to address infrastructure, affordability and literacy to ensure gains are broad-based.

Featured image: KPMG via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.