Still Out of Range: Report shows 130 million Nigerians lack internet access

About 130 million Nigerians still don’t have access to mobile Internet, according to a new report by the GSMA, a global telecoms industry group.

The report, titled “State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2025,” shows that Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest number of mobile Internet users in the world.

Only 25% of people in the region use mobile Internet, while the coverage gap areas where there is no Internet signal  stands at 10%.

In contrast, regions like North America, Europe, and East Asia have much higher access, with over 75% of their populations using mobile Internet on personal devices.

Countries with the Biggest Internet Gaps
Nigeria is among the top 20 countries with the largest number of people not connected. Other countries include:
India: 690 million
China: 240 million
Pakistan: 130 million
Ethiopia: 100 million
Indonesia: 110 million

Egypt, Congo, USA: 60 million each
Brazil, Philippines: 50 million each
Mexico, Kenya, Iran: 40 million each

The GSMA noted that many poor and developing countries — especially least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked nations, and small island states — are far behind in mobile Internet adoption.

While 60% of people in other developing nations use mobile Internet, only 25–38% of people in these struggling regions do.

Rural, Gender, and Technology Gaps
Although the rural-urban gap in mobile Internet access is shrinking, it still remains large  especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where rural residents are 48% less likely than city dwellers to be online.

There is also a gender gap. Across developing countries, women are 14% less likely to use mobile Internet than men.

In South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the gender gap is even wider  32% and 29%, respectively.
Smartphones and Network Access

In 2024, around 250 million people started using smartphones to connect to the Internet. By the end of that year, 4.4 billion people — about 54% of the world’s population — were using smartphones to access the Internet.

Most mobile Internet users (over 80%) now rely on 4G or 5G phones, but in Africa, many still use older 3G phones or basic feature phones. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 60% of mobile Internet users are on these older devices.

Why Many Still Can’t Connect

The GSMA said most of those not using mobile Internet lack access to a smartphone. Out of 3.1 billion people who live in areas with mobile network coverage but don’t go online:

1 billion have phones but don’t use them for Internet.
2 billion have no phone at all.

The situation has barely improved since 2021, showing that device affordability and digital skills remain major barriers to Internet access across Africa.