​WhatsApp installed on 95% of Nigerian smartphones, new report shows

​WhatsApp is currently installed on 95% of sampled smartphones in Nigeria, securing a level of market penetration unmatched by any other consumer app, according to a report by Technext.

The Nigeria Smartphone Study 2025, conducted jointly by Orange Group and KPMG across 12 major urban centers including Lagos, Abuja, and Kano, highlights WhatsApp’s total dominance over rivals like Facebook Messenger (32%) and Telegram (27%). Overall, Meta maintains a powerful footprint, with Facebook present on 87% of surveyed devices.

​The report notes that messaging apps now serve as critical public infrastructure for informal commerce, retail orders, and chat-based banking nationwide. WhatsApp’s unrivaled adoption stems from its low data requirements, simple installation, and smooth functionality on budget-friendly Android smartphones.

​Additionally, the survey recorded a rise in overall smartphone penetration, which reached 75% in 2025—up from 64% in 2023—as consumers increasingly migrate away from basic feature phones. While researchers clarify that the 95% figure reflects urban smartphone usage rather than total national subscriber counts, it underlines how deeply embedded messaging platforms have become in Nigeria’s evolving digital economy.