With the release of the 2023 Africa Domain Name Industry Study by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and its presentation at the ongoing ICANN80 conference in Kigali, Rwanda, the number of domains registered under the African country code top-level domains (ccTLD) has increased to over 4.33 million.
An extra 1.4 million generic top-level domain registrations from African businesses were registered as of November 2023, according to the report.
The report offers a thorough analysis of the Domain Name System (DNS) landscape throughout the continent. It was commissioned by ICANN and carried out by PowerSoft Africa in partnership with the Coalition for Digital Africa.
In addition to offering an essential overview of infrastructure development, digital divide concerns, and the rise in domain name registration, the study examined the DNS sector’s rapid growth and evolution in Africa.
On the Internet, a nation’s domain name is seen to represent its identity. While South Africa has .za, Kenya has .ke, Nigeria has .ng, Canada has .ca, and the UK has .uk, among other countries.
According to information provided by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), the number of domain names registered under the .ng registry in Nigeria has climbed to 225,533.
The database of names registered in the .ng country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) is maintained by NiRA, the registry for .ng Internet domain names. NiRA made this revelation at the ICANN80 forum in Kigali.
Furthering, the Head of Corporate Services at NiRA, Busayo Balogun, said during her presentation at the Country Code Names Supporting Organisation (ccNSO) session that the Association has launched a dashboard for real-time updates on .ng domain name registrations. She also mentioned that the .ng domain name has continued to gain popularity in terms of usage for email addresses and websites.
She claims that the dashboard indicates a rise in .ng domains from the 222,820 previously recorded earlier in the year to 225,533. She informed the audience that NiRA hires over 100 registrars to offer public registration services under its 3R – Registry, Registrar, Registrant – model of operation.
Adesola Akinsanya, President of NiRA, reaffirmed the organization’s dedication to expand Nigeria’s digital environment and promote the adoption of .ng domains. He stated “An end user selects a registrar to provide the registration service, and that registrar registers the domain chosen by the user .NiRA does not register users directly. This model has helped us to maintain decorum.”
“This growing trend underscores the domain’s significance and its role in establishing a strong digital identity for businesses and individuals alike.
“Additionally, we are currently conducting the .ng brand survey to gauge the awareness and adoption levels of the .ng domain among Internet users in Nigeria.
“I encourage everyone to participate in this survey and share their valuable insights,” Akinsanya added.
