Asake, Wizkid, Burna Boy among most-streamed Artists as Spotify celebrates 5 years across Africa

Popular music streaming platform Spotify is marking its 5 years of existence in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana with milestones and figures.

In what was a significant moment, the music streaming platform revealed that Asake, Wizkid, Seyi Vibes, Burna Boy and Davido are the most-streamed artists in Nigeria over the past five years of its existence.

For Spotify, the journey that began in 2021 has now resulted in 38.2 million user-generated playlists being recorded in all three countries. According to its Monday blog post, Nigeria led with 25 million, followed by Kenya with 9.5 million and Ghana with 3.7 million. 

The average age of listeners recorded across the three countries is 26 in Nigeria and Kenya, and 27 in Ghana. 

In more detail, Drake, Chris Brown, Future, Burna Boy and Travis Scott are the most-streamed artists in Kenya over the period. For Ghana, Black Sheriff, Asake, Burna Boy, Sarkodie and Drake top the list.

Also Read: Wizkid & Asake’s ‘Jogodo’ becomes fastest African song to surpass 10 million streams on Spotify.

Numbers review of Spotify in Nigeria since 2021 

Spotify entered Nigeria in February 2021 with Shiga Lin’s “到此為止,” a Cantopop ballad from Hong Kong, being the first song ever streamed on the platform by a Nigerian. Since that month, Spotify described the experience as a “borderless, discovery-driven listening” experience for its Nigerian users.

Among the numbers that defined its growth is the fact that Spotify has seen an average listening increase of over 163% year-over-year, fueled by a young generation of digitally native audience. 

The audience averaging 26 years reveals another stack figure: Nigerian users have created more than 25 million playlists to date. Also, in 2025 alone, Nigerians on Spotify clocked more than 1.4 billion hours of listening time.

The platform has been a source of in-depth connection for both listeners and artists with indigenous content, including afrobeats, gospel, street pop and others.

“Today, we’re celebrating this five-year milestone by looking at the data that tells the story of Nigeria’s vibrant soundscape,” the company said in the blog post.

Nigerian artists are also making Spotify a home to project their talents, showing increased trust in the platform. Data shows that the number of Nigerian artists on Spotify is up 158% since 2021, showing how local creators continue to leverage the platform to connect to the rest of the world. 

Notably, Afrobeats stands as the growth’s major driver with 5,022% since 2021, helping the platform to raise more generations of stars. Aside from Afrobeats, other arrays of music genres also witnessed fast-paced growth. 

For instance, Amapiano increased by 10,330%, Gospel/praise with 5,499%, Hip-hop/rap with 3,020% and R&B with 2,602%. 

Spotify users in Nigeria are also showing strong admiration for the country’s indigenous languages, as streams grew 554% in 2024 alone, revealing increased connection with local language and cultural embrace. 

Other key statistics are:

• Over 59 million podcast streaming hours since launch.
• Indigenous language listening grew locally by 292.75% YoY and globally by 63% YoY since 2021.
• Over 900k tracks added by Nigerian artists 

“At Spotify, we’re proud to provide a platform where Nigerian artists, creators, and fans can connect and share their culture with the world. We can’t wait to see where the sound goes next,” it said, reaffirming its commitment to Nigeria’s soundscape.

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