Nigeria has reached a remarkable milestone in the digital realm by exceeding 4.33 million domain name registrations, solidifying its status as the second-largest market in Africa.
This significant accomplishment was spotlighted in the most recent Africa Domain Name Industry report, which was initiated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in partnership with PowerSoft Africa.
The extensive research, encompassing 54 countries across the continent, disclosed that Nigeria had ascended to the second spot in the African domain name industry hierarchy, following South Africa. This advancement underscores Nigeria’s escalating prominence in the digital sphere.
By November 2023, the report disclosed that African country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) had surpassed 4.33 million registrations.
Furthermore, there are 1.4 million generic top-level domain (gTLD) registrations from African entities, showcasing vigorous growth in the region’s digital economy.
The ICANN report, unveiled at ICANN 80 in Kigali, Rwanda by the Coalition for Digital Africa, also brought to light the challenges confronting the continent.
Elevated internet access expenses persist in impeding widespread utility, with the average African allocating approximately 4% of their monthly income for 1GB of data, which is twice the global affordability benchmark.
Notwithstanding these obstacles, the anticipated average annual growth rate for domain names throughout Africa stands at 12.4%, signaling substantial opportunities for local providers to scale their offerings and meet the escalating demand.
The report underscored that over 1.1 million kilometers of terrestrial and submarine fiber cables interlink the continent, elevating cross-border communication and internet accessibility.
Nonetheless, it also observed a notable clustering of web content and domain hosting in a handful of countries, underscoring the necessity for more widespread and localized internet provisions.
In the context of Nigeria, the study shed light on the country’s robust digital infrastructure. Analogous to South Africa and Kenya, Nigeria benefits from multiple undersea cables. Its country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is efficiently managed, supported by six Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and numerous data centers.