A recent report by Semrush, a leading American SEO platform, has revealed that pornography and betting websites were among the most frequently visited sites by Nigerians in June 2023. The study, which analyzed millions of user journeys using AI algorithms, found that these categories of websites received over 185 million visits combined.
According to DataReportal, Nigeria currently has 103.0 million internet users, representing a 45.5% internet penetration rate. This widespread access to the internet has likely contributed to the high traffic on these platforms.
The report identified Xvideo.com, Xnxx.com, and Pornhub.com as the top three pornographic websites visited by Nigerians. Xvideo.com led with 52.82 million visits, followed by Xnxx.com with 28.41 million, and Pornhub.com with 10.2 million. In total, these three sites accounted for over 91.43 million visits in June alone.
Sports betting websites also saw significant traffic. Sportybet received 48.39 million visits, Bet9ja 37.91 million, and BetKing 10.1 million, totaling 96.4 million visits to betting platforms.
Despite the popularity of adult and betting sites, mainstream platforms still dominated the overall rankings. Google topped the list with 554.48 million visits, followed by Facebook with 154.62 million, and YouTube with 56.57 million.
Other social media platforms also featured prominently in the top ten. WhatsApp recorded 34.1 million visits, while both ChatGPT and Instagram garnered 27.21 million visits each.
Interestingly, some major social media platforms did not make the top ten list. X (formerly Twitter) ranked 11th with 18.8 million visits, TikTok placed 27th with 10.43 million, Telegram ranked 47th with 5.7 million, and LinkedIn came in 33rd with 8.87 million visits.
The report also provided insights into internet usage patterns in other African countries. In Ghana, users spent more time on social media sites, with one pornography website making it to their top ten list. South African internet users, similar to Nigerians, frequently visited pornographic and betting sites, but also showed a higher preference for movie streaming platforms compared to their Nigerian and Ghanaian counterparts.
