By Prince Osuagwu
A recently released report tagged RANKED by SquirrePR has authoritatively handed Vanguard Nigeria’s most visited news platform, after it polled over 150 million visits within the time of the report analysis in 2024.
Meanwhile within the same time, the other sites trailing Vanguard, like Punch, Daily Post, Legit.ng and Sahara Reporters polled 140 million, 80 million, and 80 million visits respectively.
The report said it tracked
Egypt’s population is about 114 million, but one of its digital news platforms recorded over 450 million visits in 2024.
This striking insight comes from RANKED2025, SquirrelPR’s latest report on Africa’s digital news landscape, released today. A closer look at the data reveals that a platform’s traffic volume is not solely dictated by its country’s population.
Instead, factors such as content depth, platform innovation, crossborder digital access, and demographic appeal play significant roles.
In Egypt, Youm7, an Arabic-language news platform, leads the rankings with the highest visits. This suggests a broad appeal beyond Egypt, likely extending across the Middle East.
The platform also benefits from Egypt’s high literacy rate (74%) and strong internet penetration (72%)—factors that contribute to the country’s dominance in digital news rankings. However, these alone do not fully explain the trends observed, making this report essential reading for media professionals seeking deeper insights into Africa’s evolving digital news ecosystem. Key Highlights from the Report RANKED2025 tracks digital news platforms across four major categories: News & Public Affairs, Business & Financial News, Technology News, and Entertainment & Lifestyle. The report covers five key African markets, including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, and Ghana – which collectively accounted for over 4 billion digital news visits in 2024. Ranking Structure: Measuring Influence by Tiers To classify influence, the rankings group platforms into three tiers based on total annual visits. Tier 1 includes outlets with 100M+ visits with leading news outlets such as Egypt’s Youm7, South Africa’s News24, Kenya’s Daily Nation, Ghana’s GhanaWeb, and Nigeria’s Vanguard Online. Tier 2 are those with 10M+ visits, while Tier 3 includes smaller yet emerging outlets with niche influence. Niche Categories: Business, technology, and entertainment publications have lower traffic thresholds (50,000–100,000 visits) due to their specialized focus. Social Media & Digital News: The Overlooked Connection The report also ranks news platforms based on social media engagement, revealing a clear trend: News outlets with strong social media followings tend to rank higher in overall digital influence. However, niche media remains an untapped opportunity in several markets. Egypt has limited niche reporting, despite strong general news readership. Nigeria excels in entertainment journalism, but business and tech reporting have room for growth. South Africa, the most mature digital market, dominates business and technology news but lacks entertainment focused outlets. Ghana and Kenya present significant opportunities for business, tech, and entertainment reporting. Why This Report is a Game-Changer for PR Professionals For PR and communication professionals, RANKED2025 is more than just a ranking – it’s a strategic blueprint for effective media engagement. The insights can help brands, agencies, and media professionals: • Identify the right media platforms for targeted campaigns. • Align content strategies with audience behaviour. • Negotiate smarter with media partners based on influence levels. • Strengthen crisis response frameworks by understanding media reach. • Leverage digital PR and SEO for sustained brand visibility. By applying these insights, PR professionals can maximize their media impact, optimize PR investments, and shape powerful brand narratives across Africa’s digital media landscape.
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