The latest report by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) indicated that Nigeria accounted for an estimated 140 million people in the mobile internet usage gap in 2025 out of the 3.1 billion people globally living within mobile broadband coverage but did not use mobile internet.
The global association gave this figure in its just published ‘State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2026’ report, which examined the barriers preventing people from adopting and using mobile internet services.
According to the GSMA, the 140 million represented Nigerians who lived within the mobile broadband networks space but did not use mobile internet services, thus reflecting the scale of the nation’s internet connectivity challenges despite availability of mobile networks.
The association noted that “the biggest challenge is a lack of mobile internet adoption among people living in areas already covered by mobile broadband.”
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The report’s findings reflected that Nigeria’s internet usage gap was similar in size to Pakistan’s 140 million, while India and China recorded larger gaps of 710 million and 200 million, respectively.
The report showed a significant difference in mobile internet adoption between urban and rural Nigerians as among adults surveyed, 66% of urban respondents were using mobile internet, compared with 33% of rural respondents.
The association reported that the disparity became more pronounced at the device stage, which revealed that while 79% of urban respondents owned an internet-enabled handset, the proportion dropped to 51% among rural respondents.
However, it disclosed that awareness of mobile internet was relatively high in both groups, at 97% among urban respondents and 86% among rural respondents.
The GSMA further clarified that for people already using mobile internet, safety and security concerns, affordability and the quality of their connectivity experience were among the barriers to greater use.
The association’s latest report’s findings reflected the persistent gap between mobile broadband coverage and actual internet use in Nigeria over the past years.
For instance, in October 2024 the GSMA estimated that about 120 million Nigerians were not using mobile internet at the end of 2023, despite living within the footprint of mobile broadband networks.
According to the GSMA, by February 2025 60% of Nigerians with access to 4G coverage, comprising 18% who had a phone but were not using mobile internet and 42% who did not have a device, were not using mobile internet.
