MTN earns 58% more per subscriber in Ghana than Nigeria

In its September-ending 2026 earnings release, MTN posted another strong performance in Nigeria, especially in subscriber volume and headline revenue. In comparison, its Ghanaian market was higher on a per-subscriber basis.

In terms of Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), a measure of how much the operator earned from each customer in a market, the figures tell a different story.

From January to September 2026, MTN Nigeria posted $3.48 billion (₦4.06 trillion) in service revenue with a 94.7 million subscriber base and  ARPU of $36.72. Over the same period in Ghana, the operator reported $1.992 billion (GH¢ 23.2 billion) with 34.3 million subscribers and an ARPU of $58.08. 

The operator ARPU of $58.08 in Ghana is roughly 58% higher than Nigeria’s $36.72 per subscriber.  This shows that despite having less than one-third of Nigeria’s user base, Ghanaian subscribers spend more on digital data and financial services.

It also depicts the interplay of macroeconomic forces, exchange rate considerations, and subscribers’ spending behaviour.

Ghanaian subscribers consume significantly more data per line and actively use digital value-added services, showing how high data usage directly inflates ARPU. The gap reflects stronger purchasing power in the two countries. Nigerian subscribers face inflationary pressures on disposable income, resulting in lower per-user spending when converted to dollar terms.

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MTN earnings in Nigeria and Ghana 

Following the payment of ₦630.5 million to the Nigerian tax collector during the period, MTN Nigeria delivered a profit after tax (PAT) of ₦1.17 trillion, which was up by 55.3% during the nine months ended September 2026.

Data revenue jumped 35.8% to ₦2.68 trillion, driven by broad-based digital adoption. As a share, data revenue contributed just over 50% of the operator’s earnings, a growth attributed to active data users increasing by 12.0% to 57.2 million and to average monthly usage per active data user growth of 16.2% to 15.3GB during the period. 

The group’s voice revenue in Nigeria grew by 11.1% to ₦1.5 trillion, fueled by a 10.9% increase in mobile subscribers, which now stand at 94.7 million. With this, voice revenue made up a 32% share of the operator’s earnings, revealing that while it’s a secondary contributor, it still maintained its relevance to financial growth. 

MTN Ghana recorded GH¢23.2 billion in service revenue during the same period, driven by accelerating performance in Q3. PAT rose by 43% to GH¢7.8 billion, while earnings per share reached GH¢0.586. EBITDA increased by 40.6% YoY to GHS14.3 billion, lifting the EBITDA margin by 3.1 percentage points to 61.5%. 

Subscriber growth continued to support its performance, with mobile subscribers increasing 12.7% YoY to 34.3 million, while active data users grew by 16.1% to 22 million. Active MoMo users reached 18.9 million, representing 6.9% growth.

MTN Ghana and Nigeria’s growth and contribution didn’t come out of the blue; it was all about investment and favourable macroeconomic conditions. 

In its H1 2025 report, the group mentioned that around R38.5 billion was spent on Capital Expenditure to enhance capacity, coverage and quality. Specifically, the group said investment in Nigeria and Ghana subsidiaries was “accelerated investment to support stronger growth.” 

Their rise as two leading contributors to the group’s earnings comes from their respective dominance in local markets, leading to increasing demand for mobile data. 

In Nigeria, the company now controls 51.7% of the total telecoms market, leaving Airtel, Globacom, and T2mobile (9mobile) to battle for the rest. It controls 32.8 million subscribers in Ghana, representing 85% of the total subscribers in the country. 

H1’26: MTN in Nigeria and Ghana 

Between January and June 2026, the group saw service revenue of approximately $7.18 billion (R115.3 billion), 17.5% more than what it earned a year ago, and the highest in its history. PAT surged to $994 million (R15.9 billion) from R14.8 billion in the prior period.

Aside from the record revenue, the spotlight draws on how the Nigerian and Ghanaian markets are solidifying their place as high-return markets for the group.

MTN Nigeria and Ghana contributed 30% and 19%, respectively, to the group’s total revenue. A total of 49% from two markets (out of 16 markets) says a lot about their sustained dominance.

The Nigerian market delivered ₦3 trillion in service revenue, largely driven by ₦1.70 trillion in data revenue, supported by ₦993 billion from voice revenue and ₦77 billion from fintech. In Ghana, revenue rose by 32.3% year-on-year to $1.3 billion (GH¢14.96 billion), and PAT jumped 43.3% to $461 million (GH¢5.13 billion).

Also Read: MTN Nigeria’s airtime and data lending revenue rebounds with 78.5% surge in Q3 ’26.