Afrobeats streams surge by over 5,000% as Spotify marks five years in Nigeria

Spotify’s five-year report for Nigeria reveals strong growth in Afrobeats, with streams for the genre increasing by over 5,000 percent since 2021. The data, spanning from the streaming platform’s launch in February 2021 to 2025, positions Nigeria as a global music powerhouse shaped by a young, discovery-driven audience consuming local music.

The Afrobeats genre, the centrepiece of Nigeria’s rapidly accelerating listening culture, recorded a staggering 5,022 percent growth in streams within the country between 2021 and 2025. This surge is part of a broader trend, with Nigeria’s year-on-year listening growth averaging 163.5 percent over the five years.

Other sub-genres have also experienced massive growth, including Amapiano at 10,330 percent, Gospel/Praise at 5,499 percent, Hip-hop/Rap at 3,020 per cent, and R\&B streams at 2,602 percent.

An increasing global and local appetite for Nigerian-language storytelling is evident, with indigenous-language listening in Nigeria increasing by 554 percent in 2024 and 87 percent in 2025. Globally, listening to these same languages saw a 141 percent rise in 2024 and a 41 percent rise in 2025.

In terms of listener favourites, Asake took top spot as the most-streamed Nigerian artist on the platform in the last five years. Wizkid, Seyi Vibez, Burna Boy, and Davido followed respectively as the top-most-streamed Nigerian artists over the same period.

Asake’s ‘Remember’ leads the ranking for the most-streamed songs, in the same period, followed by ‘Dealer’ by Ayo Maff, Fireboy DML, ‘Awolowo’ by Fido, ‘Kese (Dance)’ by Wizkid, and ‘Lonely At The Top’ by Asake, making up the top five.

Since the launch, the platform has also seen a 158 percent increase in the number of Nigerian artists joining Spotify, reflecting a growing pipeline of local creators.

Nigerian listeners are characterised by their strong drive for discovery; in recent months, the average listener streamed 150 different artists. With an average listener age of 26, this young, digitally native audience is actively shaping culture in real-time.

Over 25 million user-generated playlists have been created on Spotify in Nigeria, and in 2025 alone, listeners clocked over 1.4 million play hours. This engagement extends beyond music, with over 59 billion total podcast hours streamed since the platform’s arrival.