The average cost of a gigabyte (GB) of mobile data in Nigeria is $0.39 (N390) (N1000/$), with the country ranking number 31st out of 237 countries in terms of the cheapest mobile data.

This is according to analysis by Cable.co.uk, from data collected from 5,603 mobile data plans in 237 countries between July 5 and September 6, 2023.

In the analysis, Israel is the country with the cheapest 1GB of mobile data, at an average price of $0.02.

The most expensive place in the world to buy mobile data is Zimbabwe, where the average cost of 1GB is $43.75 – over 2000 times the cost of mobile data in Israel.

Italy is second-cheapest, with 1GB costing $0.085 on average. It’s followed by Fiji ($0.088) in third place.

Consumer Telecoms Analyst at Cable.co.uk, Dan Howdle, said: “Our yearly mobile data pricing tracking study is as much a measure of the quantity of data offered as it is the price of data more broadly.

“After all, those countries with the most improved (cheaper) pricing across the five years our tracker now covers tend to be those offering tens or even hundreds of times more data in 2023 as was available for similar money in 2019.

“It’s encouraging to see the price of data coming down across the globe as a whole, with the vast majority of countries offering 1GB of mobile data for less than $2.”

The firm noted that countries with long-established, ubiquitous 4G or new 5G infrastructure tend to fall towards the cheaper end of the table.

Further analysis showed that Sub-Saharan Africa has just six countries among the top 50 cheapest in the world – Malawi, in 29th place globally, is the cheapest in the region at $0.38.

The region also has five out of the 10 most expensive countries in the world, with Zimbabwe being the most expensive in the region and the world ($43.75), followed by Saint Helena ($40.13), South Sudan ($23.70), the Central African Republic ($10.9) and Zambia ($8.01) all at the bottom of the table.

The average price of 1GB of mobile data in all four North American countries exceeds the global average of $2.59, making it the most expensive region overall, says Cable.

The cheapest mobile data in Western Europe is in Italy – in second place globally – where the average price of 1GB is just $0.09.