According to data from an ITU report titled “  Facts and Figures 2023  ”, 37% of the African population uses the Internet in 2023. Despite the fact that the 2023 usage rate is down compared to the year previous year where it was 40%, the analysis of the organization’s data carried out by Agence Ecofin shows constant progression over the last decade.

Indeed, from 16% in 2013, the Internet usage rate rose to 25% in 2016, before progressing regularly to reach 40% in 2022. Before the drop in 2023, the only decrease observed over the last decade dates from 2017 when the rate lost 3.3 percentage points.

Several factors can explain the progression between 2020 and 2022. Among these factors, we can cite the Covid-19 pandemic following which several activities were moved online, which created an increase in Internet use.

If the ITU does not explain the decline between 2022 and 2023, several reasons can be put forward, including the resumption of physical activities, Internet outages observed in certain countries, or even Internet access problems observed in others. In August 2023, the cutting of the WACS and SAT-3 submarine cables also caused internet disruptions in some African countries.

Do better to get closer to the global average

The 2023 data reported by the ITU shows that there is room for progress on the continent. Indeed, while Africa had a 37% utilization rate, the global average was 67% according to the organization.

Additionally, unlike the African continent, Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Americas recorded Internet usage rates ranging between 87 and 91 percent. The Arab States and the Asia-Pacific region are close to the global average with rates of 69 and 66% respectively.

Better connectivity will promote growth in several sectors

If the share of the African population using the Internet were to increase in the years to come, this would open new horizons for several economic sectors, including that of e-commerce. According to the “Future of Commerce: Outlook for 2024” report from TechCabal Insights, the e-commerce sector is booming with a global turnover of $32.49 billion in 2022 and $387.5 million. African online shoppers.

Despite 25 submarine cables and 1.2 million km of terrestrial fiber, the optical fiber footprint still remains small in Africa. Some countries still lack high-speed telecommunications infrastructure. In addition, fixed broadband access prices in Africa are the most expensive in the world: 14.8% of gross national income (GNI) while the ITU recommends 2%.

In order to improve access to the Internet in Africa, the Internet Society has made several recommendations. Among other things, it recommends reforming the telecoms market to encourage the emergence of competing access networks and extending national basic infrastructure beyond the main landing points of submarine cables and the main population center towards d other population centers.

Source: Agency EcoFin