MTN and Airtel Earn N3.6 Trillion from Data in 2025

In 2025, MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria collectively earned N3.6 trillion from data consumption, marking a substantial shift as data revenue has overtaken voice as the primary income source for mobile network operators. MTN reported N2.8 trillion in data revenue, a 74.5% increase from N1.6 trillion in 2024, with data traffic rising by 34.0% and average usage per subscriber increasing to 20.13 GB per month.

Airtel Nigeria, in its financial results for the nine months ending December 31, 2025, recorded a 67.4% growth in data revenue, totaling N838.6 billion compared to N500.8 billion in 2024. Despite a 50% tariff increase implemented in February 2024, data consumption continued to rise, with Nigerians consuming 1.04 million terabytes in January 2023, reaching 1.38 million terabytes by December 2025.

The growth in Nigeria's digital economy is attributed to increased online income opportunities and the popularity of short-form video platforms among younger Nigerians. Both companies plan to invest heavily in infrastructure to meet the growing demand for data.