You can tell a lot about a person from their browser history – and the same goes for whole populations, too. And when you take a closer look at the browsing habits of the entire country – over the course of a whole year – it can answer an intriguing question: which topics captured the attention and interest of the Nigerian public in 2017?
As one of Africa’s most widely used browsers, Opera Mini is well positioned to answer this question. We’ve had our data analysts crunch the numbers, and we can now reveal Nigeria’s most widely read topics of the year.
1. Football
No surprises here – like the rest of Africa, football dominated mobile traffic figures in 2017, with fans consuming huge amounts of content around the latest transfer news, injuries, scandals, fixtures and results.
2. Entertainment/lifestyle
Nigerians love to use the internet to stay on-trend! This fast-moving population consumes entertainment and lifestyle content at an impressive pace, whether it’s fashion or fitness, food or fast cars.
3. Gossip
With Nigeria’s weakness for celebrity, booming film and entertainment industries, and a flair for the dramatic, it’s no surprise that gossip-based content comes in at number three. And it’s not just the big glossy websites dominating the space either – a growing number of independent gossip bloggers are set to make sure the trend continues upward in 2018.
4. Life hacks
From the list so far, it’s clear that Nigerian internet users prefer to engage with lighter, more entertainment-based content rather than in-depth reads, but that doesn’t mean they’re not picking up some handy tips along the way! Life hacks are Nigeria’s fourth most widely read content category for 2017.
5. Daily Escapes
Perhaps it’s that local audiences prefer to get their politics and news from more traditional media like television and radio. Whatever the reason, it seems Nigeria’s mobile internet users prefer to use their connections for pleasure, rather than business. Whether it’s a clever how-to or the latest social media gossip, our users love the daily escape of limitless media on demand.