Nigeria tops other African countries with most internet usage gap

The growth rate in mobile internet adoption has remained flat since 2015. In 2023, an additional 160 million people started using mobile internet on their devices, similar to the increase seen in 2022 but falling short of the annual growth observed during 2015–2021.

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem, has revealed that those who are digitally excluded are more likely to be poorer, less educated, rural, and women – groups that stand to gain the most from connectivity.

The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2024 report by GSMA says almost 90% of those not using mobile internet live in areas covered by mobile broadband. About 3.1 billion people (39% of the global population) are in areas covered by mobile internet but not using it by the end of 2023.

With mobile internet adoption outpacing network expansion, this usage gap has continued to shrink and is now nine times the size of the coverage gap. Two-thirds of those not using mobile internet, despite living in areas with broadband coverage, do not own a mobile phone.

According to GSMA, the unconnected in Low and medium-income countries (LMICs) experience some barriers to mobile internet adoption such as affordability of phones, lack of literacy, and digital skills, concerns about safety and security, affordability, and connectivity experience. Closing this significant usage gap is estimated to add a cumulative $3.5 trillion to global GDP by 2030.

Here are the top 5 African countries with the most internet usage gaps

Nigeria

Nigeria has a significant internet usage gap, with 120 million Nigerians lacking access to mobile internet as of the end of 2023. This gap refers to the number of people who live within the range of a mobile broadband network but do not use the internet. Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says mobile internet subscriptions in Nigeria stood at 163.3 million as of December 2023.

Ethiopia

Over the past three years, Ethiopia has made efforts to improve its digital foundation resulting in 36 million internet users which is 35% of its population. However, the internet usage gap increased to 100 million people in 2023 due to a significant proportion of the population living in rural areas who lack the digital skills needed to navigate the online world.

Egypt

According to Statista, Egypt’s internet penetration rate was 72.2% of the country’s population amounting to 80.8 million internet users but about 55 million people still do not have access to the internet. This gap is due to Egyptian internet users’ self-censorship to avoid harassment and criminal penalties, the lack of telecommunications infrastructure, and the low rate of rural households’ access to the internet.

Tanzania

Tanzania, with over 65 million people, is experiencing significant digital transformation. There were 21 million internet users in Tanzania at the start of 2023 when internet penetration stood at 31.6 percent but its internet usage gap reached 40 million people at the end of 2023.

Kenya

In 2023, Kenya had 17.86 million internet users representing an internet penetration rate of 32.7 percent but ended the year with 35 million people without access to the internet. The country had 10.55 million social media users in January 2023, equating to 19.3 per cent of the total population.