The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria has disclosed 222.6 million telephone subscribers as of the end of 2022.
The 2022 figure represented a 27.1 million subscriber growth over the 195.5 million registered at the end of 2021.
The data were revealed in the NBS’s Telecoms Data: Active Voice and Internet per State, Porting and Tariff Information report for the fourth quarter of 2022, which was issued in Abuja on Monday.
According to the report, the result for the fourth quarter of 2022 reflected a 13.87 per cent increase in voice subscribers year on year.
According to the study, growth was 4.89 per cent quarter over quarter.
The NBS also recorded 154.9 million active internet subscribers at the end of 2022, up from 142 million at the end of 2021.
“This represents a 9.07% increase in active internet subscriptions year on year, while internet subscriptions increased by 1.35 percent quarter on quarter,” it said.
The survey found that Lagos State had the most active telephone users in 2022, with 26.5 million, followed by Ogun, which had 13 million subscribers.
Kano State came in third place, with 12.4 million telephone subscribers.
According to the survey, Bayelsa had the fewest telephone customers with 1.6 million subscribers, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1.9 million and two million users, respectively.
It also revealed that Lagos State has the most internet users, with 18.7 million subscribers, followed by Ogun with 9.2 million and Kano with 8.5 million.
“On the other hand, Bayelsa recorded the least number of 1.1 million internet users, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1.3 million and 1.5 million subscribers, respectively,” it stated.
According to the NBS research, the majority of telephone users in Nigeria in 2022 will be MTN subscribers.