Again, Nigeria’s .ng Domain Name Registration Slides to 229,250 After Attaining 231,556 in March

Emma Okonji

Nigeria has continued to witness a downward trend in the registration, renewal and restoration of its .ng domain name since the beginning of the year, according to the latest statistics released by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), the body responsible for managing Nigeria’s country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD).

The total figure for the registration, renewal and restoration of .ng domain name dropped to 229,250 in April, after attaining 231,556 in March this year.

The figure had also dropped in January, February and March this year, before dropping again to 229,250 in April.

According to the statistics, the total .ng domain name registration, renewal and restoration, reached 234,083 in January 2025, but dropped slightly to 232,853 in February, with a further drop to 231,556 in March 2025, before dropping again to 229,250 in April this year.

Although the summation of .ng domain name includes registration, renewal and restoration, but the latest statistics on Nigeria’s .ng domain name as released by NiRA, showed that registration alone reached 6,200 in February 2025, and increased slightly to 6,440 in March, but dropped 5,803 in April 2025.

The .ng domain name renewal alone was 4,492 in February 2025, and increased to 5,724 in March 2025, but dropped to 5,363 in April 2025, while the .ng domain name restoration alone was 118 in February 2025, and increased to 137 in March 2025, with a further increase to 184 in April 2025.

The ccTLD .ng domain name is Nigeria’s identity in cyberspace, which has the .ng at the suffix of every official email address that originates from Nigeria. In the United Kingdom, all official email addresses end with .co.uk. In United States of America, they end with .com, while in South Africa, the official email addresses end with .co.za.

Nigeria had initially maintained a steady growth in the adoption and usage of .ng domain name across different sectors of the economy and the growth attracted commendations from the global community of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in 2023.   

ICAN had commended Nigeria in 2023 for surpassing the 225,000 mark for all registered .ng domain names in the country, when Nigeria attained the 226,702 in June 2023. Nigeria had further populated its .ng domain name registration from August to November in 2023, before it dropped slightly to 229,583 in December 2024. The figure however reached 234,083 in January 2025, before dropping again to 232,853 in February, with another drop to 231,556 in March 2025, and a further drop to 229,250 in April 2025, according to the latest statistics released by NiRA.

In NiRA’s Newsletter for the month of April 2025, its President, Adesola Akinsanya, spoke about NiRA’s commitment to driving .ng domain adoption and advancing Nigeria’s digital landscape.

According to him, “NiRA is working to ensure that .ng domain name plays a transformative role in Nigeria’s digital journey. NiRA remains deeply committed to advancing and protecting the .ng domain as a trusted and strategic element of our national internet infrastructure. Our actions are guided by the values of accountability, innovation, and collective responsibility.

“At NiRA, it’s never just about reporting what we’ve done—it’s about showing how every step we take aligns with our core purpose: strengthening Nigeria’s digital identity through the growth and adoption of the .ng domain.”

“In the month of April, our engagements have been intentional and focused with one goal in mind: advancing the .ng domain registry and ensuring it reflects the innovation of Nigeria,” Akinsanya further said.