Nigeria’s active mobile subscriptions hit 200 million after NIN-SIM purge

Nigeria’s active mobile subscriptions hit 200 million after NIN-SIM purge.

Nigeria’s active mobile subscriptions rose 29% in two years to 200.3 million in September 2026, recovering from the sharp decline that followed the enforcement of the National Identification Number (NIN)-SIM linkage policy.

The rebound, however, remains concentrated among two operators, with MTN and Airtel accounting for about 86% of active connections, leaving Globacom and T2 with a much smaller share of the market.

MTN had 104.6 million active subscriptions in September, while Airtel had 68 million.

They collectively accounted for about 172.7 million out of the 200.1 million recorded across the four operators. Globacom had 23.5 million, while T2 had 3.6 million, according to the latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) . The 200 million mobile subscriptions refer to active phone lines, not that 200 million people own or use mobile phones. One person can have multiple SIM cards, and active connections also include SIMs used in routers and other devices.

MSEApp News is publishing an original rewrite of this tip for readers, based on reporting associated with TechCabal.