According to a published report, Nigeria has the lowest data costs in West Africa. Across the country, the average cost for 1 gigabyte of data is $0.38, making it one of the most affordable options both globally and on the continent.
To give examples from other African countries, the average cost for 1 gigabyte of data is $1.77 in South Africa, $0.68 in Ethiopia, and $0.59 in Kenya. In the United States, this cost is significantly higher, averaging $6. Nigeria has established a cost-effective and competitive data environment nationwide.
However, Nigerian telecommunications operators have reported challenges within the sector due to factors such as currency devaluation, inflation, and the general economic downturn in recent months. As a result, they have requested a price increase.
The federal government has responded positively to this request but has guaranteed that the increase will not reach the 100% level requested by the companies.
Nigeria’s digital economy is growing rapidly. By 2028, increased digitalization in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, transport, trade, and government is expected to boost GDP by approximately two percentage points.
This growth is also projected to create 2 million new jobs and provide an additional 1.6 trillion naira in tax revenue.