New data from the global audio streaming giant Spotify has revealed the staggering extent of Nigeria's digital listening habits. In its annual 2025 Wrapped report, the platform disclosed that users in Nigeria collectively streamed music and podcasts for more than 1.3 billion hours throughout the year.
Massive Growth in Music and Podcast Consumption
The figure, which is equivalent to roughly 149,000 years of continuous playback, marks a significant surge in engagement on the platform. The report, released on Wednesday, November 3, 2025, highlights a booming appetite for audio content among Nigerians. A key driver was local music, with consumption of Nigerian artists seeing an 82 percent increase compared to the previous year, 2024.
Daily streams on the platform also grew by a healthy 23 percent. Beyond music, the podcast scene experienced explosive growth. Hours spent listening to podcasts jumped by 97 percent year-on-year, while the number of people creating podcasts in Nigeria increased by 48%, indicating a vibrant and growing creator economy.
Spiritual Content and Youth Drive Trends
The report also shed light on the content preferences of Nigerian listeners. There was a notable trend towards faith and spirituality, with podcasts in this category ranking among the most streamed. This points to listeners increasingly turning to digital audio for guidance, reflection, and a sense of community in their daily lives.
According to Spotify's new Listening Age data, the average user in Nigeria is 25 years old, underscoring the platform's deep penetration among the country's youth demographic. In the music arena, global superstar Wizkid emerged as the most-streamed Nigerian artist on Spotify for the year 2025.
Public Reaction and Industry Impact
The revelation of the massive 1.3 billion-hour listening time sparked widespread reactions online. Some social media users expressed amazement at the sheer scale, with one user, theAdehimself, calculating the monetary value implied by such engagement. Others, like cocoa_lore, contextualized the numbers per user, noting the common practice of playing music during daily activities.
However, not all reactions were celebratory. Some commentators, such as chinemerem14501, criticized the time spent on entertainment, suggesting it could be redirected towards civic engagement. Despite the mixed reactions, the data unequivocally confirms the powerful role streaming platforms play in Nigeria's entertainment landscape and the growing global influence of its music and podcast creators.
The report comes alongside related news that Wizkid's album Morayo was also the most-streamed album in Sub-Saharan Africa on Apple Music in 2025, further cementing the artist's dominance and the international appeal of Nigerian sounds.
