STATISTICS

Social media statistics for Nigeria (2026)

Nigeria had 109 million internet users and 47.8 million social media user identities in October 2025, according to DataReportal. TikTok's ads reached 47.8 million adults, Facebook's 38.0 million people and YouTube's 30.5 million. The regulator, NCC, counted 158.5 million internet subscriptions and 197.4 million active phone subscriptions in August 2026. Newer monthly figures from Meta's ad tools, compiled by NapoleonCat, put Facebook's audience at 42.1 million in September 2026, and StatCounter found Facebook sent 87.51 percent of social media referrals to Nigerian websites that month.

Compiled by the Zolyp team · Every figure checked against its source on

Internet and mobile

How many people in Nigeria are online and how fast their connections are, from DataReportal's late-2025 report.

What the regulator counts (NCC)

The Nigerian Communications Commission publishes monthly subscription figures from each operator's returns. These are subscriptions, not people.

Social media users

DataReportal's estimate of social media use in Nigeria, as of October 2025.

Platform by platform

Advertising reach in Nigeria in late 2025, from each platform's own ad tools as reported by DataReportal. Ad reach is the audience advertisers can target, not the number of active users.

  • 47.8 million

    TikTok's advertising reach among users aged 18 and above in Nigeria in late 2025, equal to 38.2 percent of adults; 31.9 percent of that audience was female.

    TikTok's ad tools only show audiences aged 18+, so younger users are not counted. This is advertising reach: the number of people the platform says advertisers can reach. It is not the same as monthly active users, and platforms revise these figures often.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • 38.0 million

    Facebook's advertising reach in Nigeria in late 2025, equal to 15.9 percent of the population and 30.0 percent of adults; 41.7 percent of its adult ad audience was female.

    Advertising reach from Meta's ad tools, not monthly active users. Meta says its audience estimates are not a proxy for monthly or daily active users, and one person can have more than one account.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • 30.5 million

    YouTube's advertising reach in Nigeria in late 2025, equal to 12.8 percent of the population and 28.1 percent of internet users.

    This is advertising reach: the number of people the platform says advertisers can reach. It is not the same as monthly active users, and platforms revise these figures often.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • 23.0 million

    Snapchat's advertising reach in Nigeria in late 2025, equal to 16.5 percent of adults.

    Snap also reports an "unknown" gender group, so the female and male shares do not add up to 100 percent. This is advertising reach: the number of people the platform says advertisers can reach. It is not the same as monthly active users, and platforms revise these figures often.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • 13.0 million

    LinkedIn members in Nigeria in late 2025, according to LinkedIn's advertising tools (equal to 10.4 percent of adults).

    LinkedIn counts total registered members, not monthly active users, so this is not directly comparable with the other platforms.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • 10.0 million

    Instagram's advertising reach in Nigeria in late 2025, equal to 7.8 percent of adults.

    Advertising reach from Meta's ad tools, not monthly active users. Meta says its audience estimates are not a proxy for monthly or daily active users, and one person can have more than one account.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • 6.95 million

    X's advertising reach in Nigeria in late 2025, equal to 5.1 percent of adults.

    DataReportal says X's reach figures can swing sharply even over short periods. This is advertising reach: the number of people the platform says advertisers can reach. It is not the same as monthly active users, and platforms revise these figures often.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • 5.65 million

    Messenger's advertising reach in Nigeria in late 2025, equal to 4.5 percent of adults.

    Advertising reach from Meta's ad tools, not monthly active users. Meta says its audience estimates are not a proxy for monthly or daily active users, and one person can have more than one account.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • 945 thousand

    Threads' advertising reach in Nigeria in late 2025, equal to 0.8 percent of adults.

    Advertising reach from Meta's ad tools, not monthly active users. Meta says its audience estimates are not a proxy for monthly or daily active users, and one person can have more than one account.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

Latest monthly figures (September 2026)

Newer than DataReportal's late-2025 report. NapoleonCat publishes monthly audience sizes from Meta's ad tools, and StatCounter shows which social sites sent visitors to Nigerian websites. Neither is a count of active users.

  • 42.1 million

    Facebook users in Nigeria in September 2026 (42,057,000), equal to 17.2 percent of the population; 57.1 percent were men and people aged 25 to 34 were the largest group (16.0 million).

    NapoleonCat's monthly table peaks at 48,700,300 in February 2026 and shows a 7 percent fall between August and September 2026. Ad-audience data, not active users. NapoleonCat reads it from Meta's advertising tools each month; Meta's figures are estimates of people who accessed their account at least once that month and can be reached with ads. One person can have more than one account, and the method differs from DataReportal's, so the two sets of figures don't match.

    Source: NapoleonCat (from Meta's ad tools), Facebook users in Nigeria, September 2026 (September 2026), checked 15 October 2026

  • 8.9 million

    Instagram users in Nigeria in September 2026 (8,942,200), equal to 3.7 percent of the population; 52.7 percent were men.

    The same page's monthly table gives 9.0 million for September 2026, down from 10.3 million in October 2025. Ad-audience data, not active users. NapoleonCat reads it from Meta's advertising tools each month; Meta's figures are estimates of people who accessed their account at least once that month and can be reached with ads. One person can have more than one account, and the method differs from DataReportal's, so the two sets of figures don't match.

    Source: NapoleonCat (from Meta's ad tools), Instagram users in Nigeria, September 2026 (September 2026), checked 15 October 2026

  • 87.51%

    Facebook's share of website visits referred by social media in Nigeria in September 2026, ahead of Instagram (4.31 percent), YouTube (3.19 percent), X, listed as Twitter (3.03 percent), Pinterest (0.93 percent) and LinkedIn (0.75 percent).

    StatCounter counts page views on websites that use its tracking code and records which social media site sent each visitor. It measures where website traffic comes from, not how many people use each platform, and apps that keep people inside them (such as TikTok) send few visitors to websites.

    Source: StatCounter Global Stats, Social Media Stats Nigeria (September 2026), checked 15 October 2026

Year-on-year change in ad reach

How each platform's advertising reach in Nigeria changed between late 2024 and late 2025.

  • +14.5 million

    Growth in TikTok's adult advertising reach in Nigeria between the end of 2024 and late 2025 (+43.4 percent).

    DataReportal warns that year-on-year changes in ad reach can come from platforms correcting their own data (for example removing fake or duplicate accounts), not only from real changes in use.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • +5.33 million

    Growth in Snapchat's advertising reach in Nigeria between the end of 2024 and late 2025 (+30.2 percent).

    DataReportal warns that year-on-year changes in ad reach can come from platforms correcting their own data (for example removing fake or duplicate accounts), not only from real changes in use.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • +3.50 million

    Growth in YouTube's advertising reach in Nigeria between the end of 2024 and late 2025 (+13.0 percent).

    DataReportal warns that year-on-year changes in ad reach can come from platforms correcting their own data (for example removing fake or duplicate accounts), not only from real changes in use.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • +2.45 million

    Growth in Facebook's advertising reach in Nigeria between October 2024 and October 2025 (+6.9 percent), although it fell by 3.20 million between July and October 2025.

    DataReportal warns that year-on-year changes in ad reach can come from platforms correcting their own data (for example removing fake or duplicate accounts), not only from real changes in use.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • -650 thousand

    Change in Instagram's advertising reach in Nigeria between October 2024 and October 2025 (-6.1 percent).

    DataReportal warns that year-on-year changes in ad reach can come from platforms correcting their own data (for example removing fake or duplicate accounts), not only from real changes in use.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

  • -831 thousand

    Change in X's advertising reach in Nigeria between the end of 2024 and late 2025 (-10.7 percent).

    DataReportal warns that year-on-year changes in ad reach can come from platforms correcting their own data (for example removing fake or duplicate accounts), not only from real changes in use.

    Source: DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social & Meltwater), Digital 2026: Nigeria (8 November 2025), checked 15 October 2026

What this means for a small business

  • TikTok now reaches more Nigerian adults than any other platform in DataReportal's figures and is growing fastest, so short vertical videos filmed on a phone are worth making.
  • Facebook still sends most of the social traffic to Nigerian websites. Keep a Facebook Page active and use it for links to your shop or booking page.
  • Mobile is how almost everyone gets online, and many people still use 2G. Keep videos short, images light and text easy to read on a small screen.
  • Audiences on every platform are mostly male. If you mainly sell to women, test which platforms and formats actually reach them.
  • Nigeria's population is very young, so plan content around school terms, music and youth culture as well as Christmas and both Eids.

Knowing where your customers are is half of it; the other half is posting there every week. Make a post with the free generator or let Zolyp plan and write the week for you.

Common questions

How many people use social media in Nigeria?

DataReportal counted 47.8 million social media user identities in Nigeria in October 2025, about 20.0 percent of the population and 38.2 percent of adults, up 12 million in a year. These are accounts, not confirmed individuals.

Which social media is most used in Nigeria?

By advertising reach in late 2025, TikTok led with 47.8 million adults, followed by Facebook (38.0 million), YouTube (30.5 million) and Snapchat (23.0 million). Facebook sent 87.51 percent of social media referrals to Nigerian websites in September 2026, according to StatCounter.

How many internet users are there in Nigeria?

DataReportal estimated 109 million internet users in October 2025, or 45.5 percent of the population. NCC counted 158.5 million internet subscriptions in August 2026, but that counts SIM cards and connections, and one person can have several.

Is TikTok popular in Nigeria?

Yes. TikTok's ad tools reached 47.8 million adults in Nigeria in late 2025, 38.2 percent of the adult population, after growing by 14.5 million (+43.4 percent) in a year.

Cite this page

You're welcome to use these figures. Please cite the original source shown under each one, and link to this page if it helped: Zolyp, “Social media statistics for Nigeria (2026)”, updated 15 October 2026, https://www.zolyp.com/statistics/social-media-statistics-nigeria

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