Country Report

Nigeria

Africa, Western Africa

Nigeria’s Internet serves the largest population in Africa (213 million) and the seventh largest in the world. So far, only one in three of the population uses the Internet, which is working to overcome several challenges, including low DNSSEC and RPKI adoption, and poor Transit Provider Diversity and Retail ISP Diversity. Each of these is having a negative effect on its overall Internet resilience but not as much as the performance of its mobile and fixed networks (19%), which is collectively ranked third last for all of Africa, ahead of only Eswatini (17%) and Somalia (15%).

Open Internet Environment

The open Internet allows people and organizations to mix and match technologies without permission and with minimal barriers. Sustaining and growing an open Internet helps to spur innovation and keep it fit for future applications. An open Internet is an accessible Internet – it is easy to connect to the open Internet and use its services.

Internet Use

Individuals using the Internet as a percentage of the total population

55%

Regional Rank: 16

39%

Africa avg.

Internet Resilience Score

A resilient Internet connection is one that maintains an acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation

36%

Regional Rank: 24

36%

Africa avg.

See details

Internet Freedom

Freedom on the Net measures Internet freedom in 70 countries

Partly Free

See details on freedomhouse.org

Retail ISP Diversity

Diversity of retail Internet providers improves resilience and user choice

Poor

IXP Operator Market

A measure of the diversity and concentration of the local market for Internet Exchange Point operations

See details

Globally Connected Infrastructure

The globally connected Internet is inclusive. It allows networks and users to interconnect without geographical restrictions. Increasing the connectivity of the Internet makes it more valuable to every participant, as a tool for communications, learning, commerce.

Networks Assigned

A measure of how many Internet networks are active here

257

Regional Rank: 2

Africa avg.

Addresses Assigned IPv6

A measure of how many Internet addresses are assigned here

7.0M

21.5M

Regional Rank: 7

Africa avg.

IPv6 Adoption

Enabling the Internet to support more users and more uses

Regional Rank: 20

Africa avg.

Internet Exchange Points

IXPs help strengthen local Internet connectivity, develop local Internet industry, improve competitiveness, and serve as a hub for technical activity

Regional Rank: 3

Africa avg.

See details

Addresses Assigned IPv4

A measure of how many legacy addresses are assigned here

3.2M

2.2M

Regional Rank: 9

Africa avg.

Peering Networks

Peering networks help to keep Internet traffic local, provide faster connections, and improve the experience of the people relying on them

117

Regional Rank: 3

Africa avg.

Secure and Trustworthy Internet

A secure Internet is resistant to attacks on its infrastructure, delivering a robust service to its user community. A trustworthy Internet meets the expectations of its users by offering a resilient and reliable base for applications and services.

Naming Security Status

Adopting DNSSEC improves trustworthiness of Internet communications

.ng

Inactive

Naming Security Adoption

A measure of how much local Internet users are protected by DNSSEC

16%

Regional Rank: 53

55%

Africa avg.

Routing Security Adoption

A measure of how much local Internet providers are checking validity of connectivity information they receive from other networks

Regional Rank: 25

11%

Africa avg.

Routing Security Coverage IPv4

One measure of how much local Internet network providers are securing their infrastructure

34%

Regional Rank: 29

41%

Africa avg.

Routing Security Coverage IPv6

One measure of how much local Internet network providers are securing their infrastructure

28%

Regional Rank: 41

58%

Africa avg.

Latest Posts

Illustration of map of Africa with a load icon overlaid

March 14, 2024

Major Internet Outages Across Western and Southern Africa Today

Dan York

Senior Advisor, Internet Society

Categories: Resilience

Follow updates of widespread outages happening across Africa.

Banner image with two photos showing crowds in India and China

April 27, 2023

Four of the World’s Top 10 Populous Countries Driving IPv6 Adoption

Robbie Mitchell

Communication and Tech Advisor, Internet Society

Categories: Countries, Technology

With the two largest populations in the world, India and China are also boasting the most IPv6 users in the world.

March 14, 2023

Nigeria Regulator and Advisors Collaborate to Strengthen Internet

Robbie Mitchell

Communication and Tech Advisor, Internet Society

Categories: Resilience, Shutdown

The Internet Society Nigeria Chapter has been collaborating and informing the national regulator on threats against the Internet, including nullify rumors of Internet shutdown during the recent Nigerian elections.

The geographic boundaries and country names shown do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Internet Society concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities. Regions and Sub-Regions are taken from the UN Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use (Series M, No. 49).