A study by KPMG Nigeria and Orange Group Nigeria reports that smartphone ownership reached 75 per cent in 2025, up from 64 per cent in 2023. The findings point to the growing importance of mobile devices in everyday economic activity.
The research covered 13,251 respondents across 12 major Nigerian cities. That survey context is important when interpreting the headline figure, which should not be treated as a direct count of all Nigerians who own smartphones.
As adoption grows, smartphones are supporting wider use of services ranging from banking and shopping to education and transport. Yet access remains uneven, and owning a device does not guarantee a reliable connection.
What the Nigeria smartphone study found
The change from 64 per cent to 75 per cent represents an increase of 11 percentage points. Reporting on the study also identifies Android as the dominant operating system among smartphone users.
According to Arise News’ account of the research, Android accounted for 88 per cent of the smartphones covered by the findings.
These results offer businesses a view of the devices through which many consumers encounter digital products. They can help inform decisions about compatibility, design and testing.
However, a national market includes people with different incomes, locations and levels of access. A strong result across major cities does not establish that adoption is equally high in every rural community or population group.
Smartphones play a wider economic role
KPMG describes smartphones as increasingly important tools for participation in the economy. Their use extends across financial services, commerce, entertainment, education and transportation.
The firm cites Nigerian Communications Commission data showing 157 million internet subscriptions and more than 1.5 million terabytes of data consumption in May 2026.
Subscriptions should not be confused with unique individuals. A person can use more than one connection, so a subscription total answers a different question from a population survey.
For a small business, a smartphone may combine several functions in one device. It can provide a way to contact customers, receive payments, display products and arrange deliveries.
Those possibilities help explain why smartphone adoption matters beyond the sale of handsets. Its economic value depends on the services people can actually use through them.
Older networks still shape the experience
KPMG noted that more than one-third of mobile subscribers remained on 2G networks as of May 2026. That finding points to a gap between broader digital ambitions and the quality of access available to some users.
The study also identifies affordability, infrastructure limitations, digital literacy and cybersecurity concerns as continuing barriers.
These factors can reinforce one another. Someone may own a suitable phone but struggle to buy data regularly. Another user may afford data but lack confidence in handling online payments or recognising a suspicious message.
As a result, ownership is a useful measure of progress, but it cannot describe the full digital experience. Regular use, reliable service and confidence online are separate issues.
Affordability remains central to inclusion
GSMA research identifies handset affordability as a major obstacle to mobile internet adoption in Africa. It also highlights the importance of digital skills, safety and useful online services.
The cost of a handset is only the starting point. A user must also be able to keep the device working and maintain access to the services they need.
For people on limited incomes, regular use may involve difficult choices about spending. That can affect whether a digital service becomes part of daily life or remains an occasional option.
Improving access therefore requires attention to the cost of participation over time. A one-off increase in device ownership does not settle that question.
What businesses and policymakers can learn
The study suggests a larger audience for services delivered through mobile phones. However, developers still need to consider users with limited data, older devices or less digital experience.
Simple navigation, clear language and helpful support can make a product easier to use. Those are practical design responses to the barriers identified in the research, rather than findings that every service currently provides them.
For policymakers, the results underline the need to assess infrastructure and participation together. A growing number of smartphones is encouraging, but it does not remove gaps in affordability, skills or service quality.
Future research will help show whether the reported growth continues and how it varies across communities. The next stage of Nigeria’s digital expansion will depend on turning access to a device into sustained access to useful, trustworthy services.
