Nigerian music star Wizkid has emerged as the highest-ranked African act on ChartMasters’ global “Best Selling Artists of All Time” list, with 13.18 million album-equivalent sales recorded worldwide as of March 3, 2026.
The ranking, released by music analytics platform ChartMasters, places Wizkid at No. 544 out of 641 artistes listed globally. Among African performers featured, he leads the continent, with fellow Nigerian Grammy winner Burna Boy following closely at No. 547.
Explaining its methodology, the platform stated: “This ranking aggregates performance across multiple formats physical sales, downloads, and streams each assigned a specific weight to reflect its relative contribution to an artiste’s success.” It added, “This approach is driven by our CSPC method. The ranking is refreshed daily.”
ChartMasters’ Comprehensive Sales Plus Consumption (CSPC) model combines physical album sales, digital downloads, streaming equivalents, physical singles, digital singles and album track equivalents to estimate an artiste’s lifetime commercial impact. Wizkid’s 13.18 million total reflects cumulative data from studio albums, compilations, singles and streams accrued over the course of his career.
The recognition comes amid sustained streaming momentum in 2026. His collaboration with Asake, titled “Jogodo,” has spent 46 days at No. 1 on Spotify Nigeria’s Daily Top Songs chart. The track also topped the UK Official Afrobeats Chart for five weeks and closed February as the most-streamed Nigerian song of the year so far.
In addition, Wizkid and Asake’s joint EP “REAL” has surpassed 80 million streams on Spotify. The singer has also crossed the 10 billion streams mark on the platform, becoming the first African artiste to reach the milestone, and was named among those featured on Billboard’s list of the 100 greatest pop songs of the streaming era.
ChartMasters describes its ranking as dynamic and independently compiled, noting that it is updated daily to reflect both historical and current performance data across markets. Unlike certification bodies such as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the platform applies its own methodology to publicly available sales and streaming figures.
Despite Wizkid’s current standing as the highest-ranked African act on the list, music historians note that several African legends achieved substantial commercial success before the advent of digital tracking systems.
For instance, Prince Nico Mbarga’s 1976 hit “Sweet Mother” reportedly sold 13 million physical copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles globally. Other icons, including Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Brenda Fassie, Hugh Masekela, Angelique Kidjo and Youssou N’Dour, also recorded significant commercial peaks, although comprehensive historical data from that era remains limited.
As streaming continues to reshape global music consumption, ChartMasters’ latest update positions Wizkid at the forefront of Africa’s digital-era commercial achievements, with Burna Boy close behind on the all-time rankings.
