The number of mobile subscribers in Nigeria increased by 19.9 million in 2020, as the Coronavirus Disease lockdown forced significant increase in mobile subscribers in the country.
This is based on data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics.
The subscribers increased from 184.7 million in 2019 to 204.6 million in 2020. This represents a 10.8 per cent increase in subscriber base.
The increase recorded in 2020 can be attributed to the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on Nigerians’ way of life. Due to the lockdown, many Nigerians, who were forced to work from home, resorted telephone internet communications.
Down to states
As expected, Lagos State, the commercial hub of Nigeria, led the pack with 24.88 million mobile subscribers, accounting for 12.2 per cent of the subscribers in the country.
Kano followed with 12.67 million (6.2 per cent), Ogun recorded 12.01 million, while Oyo had 10.4 million.
Others include Abuja (nine million), Kaduna (8.7 million), Rivers (7.5 million), Edo (7.1 million), Delta (6.9 million) and Niger (6.5 million).
On the flip side, Bayelsa had the lowest number of subscribers with 1.45 million, closely followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti states with 1.82 million and 1.86 million subscribers respectively.
Despite the growth recorded in the previous year, it is important to note that the numbers are likely to reduce in the coming months; no thanks to the challenges of linking the National Identification Number to the Subscriber Identification Module. This has made it impossible for new subscribers to join the list while inactive members are unable to reactivate.
