Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Film industry in English-speaking West Africa - statistics & facts
The film industry in West Africa is booming, with Nigerian productions being the largest in the region and all of Africa. In terms of revenue, Nigeria generates the largest share of box office revenue in Anglophone West Africa. The high percentage is directly related to the large population of Nigeria (over 200 million people), compared to the smaller populations of Liberia and Ghana. In 2022, the box office revenue originating from Liberia, Ghana, and Nigeria amounted to approximately 6.9 billion Nigerian Naira (NGN), approximately 4.6 million U.S. dollars, with a total of over 3.1 million admissions. Due to the coronavirus pandemic starting in 2019, cinemas were closed. They reopened only in Nigeria in September 2020. Thus, admissions, as well as revenue, considerably dropped in 2020, reaching only 1.7 million admissions, about 67 percent less compared to 2019, while revenue added up to roughly 2.1 billion NGN, about 1.4 million U.S. dollars.
