The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recorded 6.4 million new mobile subscribers in 2023, according to an analysis of data from the Congolese Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPTC). According to the ARPTC, the number of mobile subscribers increased from 49.8 million as of December 31, 2022 to 56.2 million as of December 31, 2023, an increase of 12.8%.

Over the period, the telephone penetration rate increased from 52.35% to 59.1%. While this indicator has continued to grow in recent years (37.3% in 2013), it remains relatively low given the large population of the DRC (95.2 million inhabitants). In addition, the actual figures should be lower, given that some Congolese have several SIM cards, each of which is counted as a subscriber.

Aware of this, the Congolese government is multiplying initiatives, in concert with the private sector, to connect every Congolese ” wherever they are ” on the national territory. Last June, a partnership was signed between the Congolese Fiber Optics Company (SOCOF SA) and the Agency for the Piloting, Coordination and Monitoring of Collaboration Conventions (APCSC) to deploy fiber optics along the roads. The executive is also working on the operationalization of the universal service fund .

The democratization of mobile telephony services in the DRC should facilitate the adoption of related technologies such as mobile Internet and mobile money, which are essential for the digital and financial inclusion of populations in a context of accelerated digital transformation. At the end of 2023, the penetration rate of mobile Internet was 31.5% and that of mobile money was 23.3%.

Source: Agency EcoFin