Spotify: Gen Z’s drive up Nigeria to second place in African Podcast consumption

Global online streaming platform, Spotify, has revealed South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Angola as the top five countries consuming podcasts in Africa.

Ncebakazi Manzi, Spotify’s Podcast Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, disclosed this in a statement in commemoration of the International Podcast Day slated for September 30 annually.

According to Spotify, the rise of podcast listenership in Nigeria has been exponential in the past couple of years, increasing by 222 per cent between 2021 and 2022.

“This places Nigeria as the second country consuming podcasts the most in Africa right after South Africa.

“Nigeria is followed by Kenya, Ghana and Angola. These five countries make up the top five African Spotify countries with the most podcast listeners.

“September 30 is International Podcast Day, and we have seen the podcast landscape continually evolve and gain traction in Nigeria.

“The demographic at the forefront of this transformation is Generation Z (Gen Z).

Manzi said that according to Spotify’s data, Nigerian Gen Zs aged between 18 and 24 years constituted a sizable segment of podcast listeners, accounting for 50 per cent of the total streams, for the last 90 days.

He said they were followed by listeners aged 25 to 29 years contributing 21 per cent of the streams. In the Sub-Saharan Africa region, Gen Z also tops the listenership rate with 39 per cent of the total streams coming from them.

In Nigeria, the most listened to podcasts are The HonestBunch Podcast, I Said What I Said, Menisms, So Nigerian and Tea with Tay.

On preferred podcast listening times among Nigerians, Manzi noted that Spotify data shows that most listeners tune in to podcasts from 7.00 a.m. to 9.00 a.m, possibly while commuting to work, sitting in traffic or getting ready for the day.