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Nigeria’s telecommunications and information services industry expanded by 10.38% in real terms in the second quarter of 2026, significantly outpacing the broader economy as rising data consumption and stronger performances from MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria continued to lift the sector.
The latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that the sector generated N5.20 trillion in real economic output during Q2 2026, measured at 2019 constant prices.
Its contribution to Nigeria’s real GDP increased to 9.72%, from 9.20% in the corresponding quarter of 2025, making telecommunications and information services the fourth-largest individual contributor to real economic output during the period.
Telecoms Growth More Than Doubles National Pace
The sector’s performance stood out against the wider economy.
Nigeria’s overall real GDP grew by 4.43% year-on-year in Q2 2026, compared with 4.23% in Q2 2025. By contrast, telecommunications and information services accelerated from 7.39% growth in Q2 2025 to 10.38% in the latest quarter.
At the broader Information and Communication sector level, which also includes broadcasting, film and music production and publishing, real growth reached 9.62% year-on-year.
The wider sector accounted for 11.74% of Nigeria’s real GDP, up from 11.18% a year earlier and 11.31% in the first quarter of 2026.
In nominal terms, Information and Communication generated N14.64 trillion, representing 12.27% of aggregate nominal GDP, compared with N10.07 trillion, or 10%, in Q2 2025.
Nominal growth accelerated to 45.32% year-on-year during the quarter.
MTN Records Stronger Data and Profit Performance
The expansion in telecoms coincided with stronger operating results from Nigeria’s two leading mobile network operators.
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecom operator, recorded N1.09 trillion in profit before tax during the first half of 2026, representing a 75.4% increase compared with the same period in the previous year.
The company attributed the improvement to stronger demand for data, better operating efficiency and lower borrowing costs.
Data consumption among MTN subscribers also continued to rise. Average monthly data usage increased 15.2% year-on-year to 14.8GB per subscriber, while its active data-user base expanded by 9.3% to 55.7 million.
The figures underline the growing importance of data services to telecom operators as consumers increasingly rely on digital platforms for communication, entertainment, commerce and other activities.
Airtel Posts Double-Digit Customer Growth
Airtel Nigeria also recorded significant growth during the period.
The operator generated $501 million in revenue, representing a 50.4% year-on-year increase in reported currency and 29.8% growth on a constant-currency basis.
Data remained the company’s strongest growth engine, with data revenue climbing 59.9% to $263 million in reported currency. Voice revenue also increased by 42.6% to $191 million.
Airtel’s EBITDA rose 58.4% to $293 million, while its EBITDA margin improved to 58.6%.
The company’s customer base expanded by 12% to 60.1 million, while the number of data customers increased 11% to 32.5 million.
Nigerians’ Data Appetite Continues to Expand
The financial performance of the major operators reflects a broader increase in Nigerians’ dependence on digital connectivity.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) disclosed in May 2026 that Nigerians were consuming approximately 45,800 terabytes of data every day.
That growing demand is forcing operators to continue investing in network capacity and infrastructure.
According to the NCC, telecommunications operators invested more than N2.5 trillion in network infrastructure in 2025, highlighting the scale of capital required to support the country’s rapidly expanding digital usage.
Other Digital Industries Also Expand
While telecommunications remained the dominant component of the Information and Communication sector, other activities also recorded growth during Q2.
Broadcasting generated N762.29 billion in real output and contributed 1.43% to total real GDP, while its real growth accelerated to 4.98% from 2.78% in Q2 2025.
Motion pictures, sound recording and music production produced N305.60 billion in real output, representing 0.57% of real GDP. The segment expanded by 9.15%, more than double its 4.07% growth a year earlier.
Publishing, the smallest component, generated N8.55 billion in real output and contributed 0.02% to real GDP. Its real growth stood at 1.90%, although nominal output jumped 159.29% year-on-year to N29.10 billion.
Together, the four activities generated approximately N6.28 trillion in real output, with telecommunications and information services accounting for more than four-fifths of the total.
Telecoms Takes Larger Role in Nigeria’s Economy
The latest GDP figures reinforce the growing economic importance of telecommunications as Nigeria’s economy becomes increasingly digital.
With 10.38% real growth in Q2, the sector expanded at more than twice the pace of the overall economy, while its N5.20 trillion quarterly output pushed its contribution to almost one-tenth of real GDP.
For MTN and Airtel, the numbers also highlight how rising data consumption is translating into stronger revenues, customer growth and earnings.
As operators continue to invest heavily in network infrastructure, the sector’s performance is likely to remain closely tied to Nigeria’s broader digital transformation and the increasing reliance of households and businesses on mobile connectivity.
