14.11.15

Cellphones rapidly shrinking digital divide in Africa

The growing availability of household surveys and census data in Africa is uncovering the true nature of phone access across the continent. This demand side data offers a more realistic snapshot than the subscription-based data that is typically used to highlight cellphone access. Drawing on the survey data, it emerges that seven in ten Sub-Saharan African households had a mobile phone in 2014. This is a massive increase from a decade earlier when only around one in five homes had a cellphone.


A number of African countries even have a higher level of mobile household penetration than North America where rates were 85 and 89 in Canada and the United States in 2013.  In many more African nations, over 90% of urban households have a telephone suggesting that the barriers to connecting the remaining households are more about lack of electricity and cellphone coverage rather than affordability.

Sub-Saharan Africa, Households with mobile phone (%), 2014 or latest

Latest

Year

South Africa

96

2014

Morocco

94

2014

Senegal

94

2014

Tunisia

93

2012

Mauritius

92

2014

Gabon

92

2012

Gambia

91

2013

Algeria

91

2012

Egypt

90

2014

Cape Verde

89

2014

Namibia

89

2013

Botswana

87

2013

Burkina Faso

86

2014

Ghana

85

2014

Congo

82

2012

Côte d'Ivoire

81

2012

Mauritania

77

2013

Nigeria

75

2013

Mali

74

2013

Togo

74

2014

Comoros

73

2012

Benin

72

2012

Uganda

68

2014

Cameroon

67

2011

Equatorial Guinea

67

2011

Zambia

66

2014

Chad

66

2013

Guinea

65

2012

Liberia

65

2013

Zimbabwe

62

2011

Tanzania

61

2012

Djibouti

60

2012

Rwanda

56

2013

Sierra Leone

55

2013

Angola

52

2011

Niger

50

2012

Malawi

49

2014

Congo, D.R.

39

2014

Mozambique

34

2011

Burundi

32

2012

Madagascar

25

2013

Ethiopia

25

2011

Source: ictDATA.org adapted from national household surveys.

 

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