Nordic and Baltic operators are pulling away from their European peers with data usage exceeding 50GB per month
European mobile operators remain among the world’s heaviest data users, but the gap between regional leaders and laggards is widening, according to Tefficient’s latest industry analysis. The Swedish consultancy’s 45th public report tracks data usage, traffic volumes and revenue per gigabyte for 116 operators worldwide across 2024 and the first half of 2025.
In 2024, 94% of operators saw growth in data usage per subscription, with 69% successfully converting this into higher ARPU. This trend continued into the first half of 2025: 93% experienced increased data usage, and 68% translated that growth into higher ARPU. The performance is roughly in line with 2023, although it still reflects a decline from 2022 levels.
Nordics and Baltics on top, Europe lags
Finland’s DNA retained its place as Europe’s highest-usage operator with 58.9GB per SIM per month in 1H 2025, up from the global bronze medal of 56.7GB in 2024. Latvia’s LMT followed with 54.2GB, while Finland’s Elisa ranked sixth globally with 52.2GB in 2024 before ceasing traffic disclosure. Austria’s 3 (Drei) and Latvia’s Bite completed the European top five, recording 50.6GB and 48.1GB respectively.
“Finns are known for their heavy data usage, and DNA’s network is built to meet this demand. We’re proud that our customers can use mobile data reliably whenever they need it,” says Jarkko Laari, vice president, networks, at DNA (above).
Lithuania’s Telia and Bite posted strong results too, at 46.4GB and 43.2GB per month in 1H 2025. Iceland’s Nova and Tele2 Latvia also featured in the continental top ten. At the other end, operators in Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and the UK reported Europe’s lowest usage levels, with Telekom Germany (including M2M SIMs), Vodafone, O2, MEO, NOS, KPN, VodafoneZiggo and Vodafone UK clustered at the bottom.
The disparity reflects varying levels of 5G infrastructure investment and unlimited plan adoption. Finnish operators achieved “close to 100%” 5G population coverage by December 2024, with 86% of non-M2M subscriptions on unlimited plans. This helps explain Nordic leadership in data consumption.
Growth rates reveal further contrasts
Telia Lithuania and Bite Lithuania led Europe in absolute usage gains, adding 8.2GB (+22%) and 7.8GB (+22%) respectively in the twelve months to June 2025. War-affected Kyivstar Ukraine saw the fastest relative rise at +62% – a performance Tefficient called “particularly impressive” given Ukraine remains under Russian military attack, demonstrating remarkable network resilience.
Vodafone Greece posted +31% usage growth in the first half of 2025 and +43% across 2024. Conversely, VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands slipped -1GB (-12%) year-on-year to June 2025, while Telia Finland reported a -6% annual decline in 2024.
Traffic volumes and monetisation success
On traffic volumes, multinational group 3 Europe – spanning the UK, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Ireland – generated the highest total in Europe, rising 36% in the twelve months to June 2025 following 15% growth in 2024. O2 Germany ranked as the largest national operator, up 20% in 2024 before its reporting ceased after delisting. Bouygues in France and Free also placed strongly, while Kyivstar again led relative traffic growth at +56% in the twelve months to June 2025.
European operators have had mixed success at the industry’s “more for more” strategy of converting higher data usage into increased revenue per user (ARPU). Finnish operators utilised unlimited, speed-tiered plans to translate higher usage into ARPU growth, while Lithuanian operators Telia and Bite achieved strong growth in both usage and ARPU.
Revenue per gigabyte shows extreme variation
Revenue per gigabyte varied dramatically across Europe, illustrating the continent’s diverse market maturity levels. KPN, VodafoneZiggo, Telekom Germany and Vodafone UK commanded the highest rates at up to €2.8 per GB, while operators in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland registered some of the lowest unit revenues, typically below €1 per GB.
VodafoneZiggo and Orange Poland bucked the broader trend by raising revenue per GB in 1H 2025, while Telia Finland and Iceland’s Nova managed modest increases in 2024.
Gulf leaders, African strugglers
Zain Kuwait topped global and regional charts once again with 74.8GB per SIM per month in 2024, supported by comprehensive 5G coverage (100% population coverage by end-2021) and unlimited data plans including 5G fixed routers with 2TB or unlimited allowances. Zain Saudi Arabia followed at 67.4GB, while Ooredoo Kuwait secured the regional bronze at 58.7GB. Zain Bahrain, Zain Jordan and Ooredoo Oman all posted more than 20GB, with Ooredoo Maldives and Zain Group also performing strongly.
In Africa, results were more subdued. MTN Ghana and MTN Nigeria achieved mid-table positions globally, ahead of Ooredoo Tunisia and Algeria. But other MTN affiliates – in Benin, Zambia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Rwanda and Uganda – remained at the bottom of the usage rankings, some averaging just a few gigabytes per month.
Mixed growth and economic pressures
Growth trends were mixed across the region. MTN Irancell recorded the strongest absolute increase, adding 8.4GB (+65%) in the twelve months to June 2025. MTN Benin’s relative growth of +83% also stood out positively.
By contrast, Turkcell in Turkey saw the sharpest decline, down -3.9GB (-19%) in the first half of 2025, hit by hyper-inflationary pressures that also weighed on Vodafone and Türk Telekom. However, Turkish operators demonstrated pricing power by increasing revenue per gigabyte faster than the country’s 44% inflation rate, with Turkcell achieving +58% revenue per GB growth in H1 2025.
Revenue extremes reflect market
Revenue figures reinforced regional divergences. MTN Irancell reported the world’s lowest revenue per GB at €0.06 in 1H 2025, while Ooredoo Qatar, Ooredoo Palestine and several others ranked among the highest globally at more than €2 per GB. Turkcell, Vodafone Turkey, Ooredoo Palestine and Ooredoo Oman all raised revenues per gigabyte during the past year, though in Turkey this reflected inflationary adjustments rather than improved underlying monetisation.
All up, Tefficient’s analysis underscores Europe’s split between high-usage Nordic and Baltic operators – supported by advanced 5G infrastructure and unlimited plan adoption – and lower-consuming Western markets constrained by pricing strategies and network investment levels. The Middle East continues to dominate global usage leadership through Gulf operators’ aggressive unlimited offerings, while Africa remains constrained by affordability and infrastructure challenges, with only select MTN markets showing decent improvements.
