Whether to follow friends, family, acquaintances, or actors and people in the art and entertainment industry, social media usage in Nigeria has been
in recent years. For most users, the aim is to keep in touch with close relations. Therefore, it is not surprising that WhatsApp is the
. As of the third quarter of 2023, this instant messaging and voice-over-IP platform was used by over 95 percent of Nigeria’s overall internet users, ahead of Facebook and Instagram. However,
for the majority of individuals accessing the news on social media.
Young Nigerians and men take over social media
Men and the youth are in the lead in social media usage in Nigeria. In 2023, more than 58 percent of the
users were men. This was reflected across platforms. For instance, around 58 percent of
Nigerians on Facebook were men. Moreover, the
overall Facebook usage was concentrated among individuals aged 18-34 years. The youth and male prevalence remained similar on other social network platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram. Consequently, young people in Nigeria were the most reached by social media advertising compared to people of other age groups.
Internet accessibility and privacy
As the internet is needed for all social media connections, it plays an essential role in the development of social media in Nigeria. Since January 2017, the
number of internet users in Nigeria has kept stable above 85 million, reaching more than 103 million in 2024. An estimated 81 million users access the internet by use of mobiles. According to a survey, as of the third quarter of 2023, the majority of internet users
protected their digital privacy by expressing concern about what is real versus what is fake on the internet, while others often declined website cookies or used an advertisement-blocking tool. Moreover, latest data available show that smartphones and tablets were the most common
devices from which the internet was accessed, referring to around 84 percent of internet users. Internet affordability also becomes a question in social media usage. As of 2023, the
price of a gigabyte of mobile data in the nation, for instance, ranged between 0.39 and 1.64 U.S. dollars.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
