KPMG Report: Nigeria Rapidly Becoming a Mobile-first Economy
•Smartphone Penetration Climbs to 75% in 2025 from 64% in 2023 Dike Onwuamaeze A study by KPMG Nigeria and Orange Group has declared that Nigeria was rapidly becoming a mobile-first
A new KPMG report reveals that Nigeria is rapidly transforming into a mobile-first economy. Smartphone penetration has increased to 75% in 2025, up from 64% in 2023. This shift is driven by the decline in feature phone usage, with their market share dropping from 36% to 28% over the same period.
The report, which surveyed 13,251 respondents, found that 88% of smartphone users in Nigeria have Android apps. Android has become the dominant mobile operating system, accounting for the vast majority of smartphones in use due to its widespread availability of affordable devices. Apple's iOS, while still present, maintains a smaller share of the market due to higher device costs.
Social media and communication apps lead the usage among Nigerian smartphone users, with WhatsApp, Facebook, and Xender dominating the app landscape. The report attributes their dominance to their wide utility and frequent pre-installation on smartphones. Banking and fintech applications also show strong adoption, reaching as high as 88% among respondents, indicating Nigeria's rapid shift towards digital financial services.
Chinese brands like Tecno, Infinix, and Itel dominate the device market, controlling 25%, 24%, and 10% of the market respectively. These brands offer affordable devices tailored to local consumer needs. While premium brands like Apple and Samsung maintain strong brand recognition, their market share is comparatively smaller due to higher costs.
Written by urgent.news from This Day's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
