Internet Penetration Across Africa (2017)

Internet Penetration is a metric that refers to the percentage of the population that has access to and uses the internet. In this post we focus on the internet penetration of countries in Africa, however, below is a brief overview of the internet penetration and growth across the globe.

WORLD INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATION STATISTICS

MARCH 2017 – UPDATE

Credit: internetworldstats.com

World Regions	Population ( 2017 Est.)	Population % of World	Internet Users 31 Mar 2017	Penetration Rate (% Pop.)	Growth 2000-2017	Internet Users % of World
Africa	1,246,504,865	16.6 %	345,676,501	27.7 %	7,557.2%	9.3 %
Asia	4,148,177,672	55.2 %	1,873,856,654	45.2 %	1,539.4%	50.2 %
Europe	822,710,362	10.9 %	636,971,824	77.4 %	506.1%	17.1 %
Latin America / Caribbean	647,604,645	8.6 %	385,919,382	59.6 %	2,035.8%	10.3 %
Middle East	250,327,574	3.3 %	141,931,765	56.7 %	4,220.9%	3.8 %
North America	363,224,006	4.8 %	320,068,243	88.1 %	196.1%	8.6 %
Oceania / Australia	40,479,846	0.5 %	27,549,054	68.1 %	261.5%	0.7 %
WORLD TOTAL	7,519,028,970	100.0 %	3,731,973,423	49.6 %	933.8%	100.0 %

It is interesting to note here that although Africa and the Middle East recorded the lowest internet penetration, they both have the highest growth rates at 7,557.2% and 4,220.9% respectively.

The data above shows that the greatest internet penetration is in North Africa with Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Cabo Verde, Zimbabwe and Gabon completing the list. The lowest internet penetration rates are found in countries in the middle of the continent, namely: Chad, Niger, Congo D.R and Central African Republic.

The table below shows the exact internet penetration percentages depicted in the map above.

AFRICA 2017 POPULATION AND INTERNET USERS STATISTICS FOR 2017
AFRICA	Population	Internet Users	Internet Users	Penetration
	(2017 Est.)	31-Dec-00	31-Mar-17	(% Population)

Algeria	41,063,753	50,000	15,105,000	36.80%
Angola	26,655,513	30,000	5,951,453	22.30%
Benin	11,458,611	15,000	1,232,940	10.80%
Botswana	2,343,981	15,000	690,000	29.40%
Burkina Faso	19,173,322	10,000	2,156,498	11.20%
Burundi	11,936,481	3,000	526,372	4.40%
Cabo Verde	533,468	8,000	235,183	44.10%
Cameroon	24,513,689	20,000	4,909,178	20.00%
Central African Rep.	5,098,826	1,500	246,432	4.80%
Chad	14,965,482	1,000	387,063	2.60%
Comoros	825,920	1,500	60,000	7.30%
Congo	4,866,243	500	400,000	8.20%
Congo, Dem. Rep.	82,242,685	500	3,101,210	3.80%
Cote d’Ivoire	23,815,886	40,000	5,230,000	22.00%
Djibouti	911,382	1,400	150,000	16.50%
Egypt	95,215,102	450,000	34,800,000	36.50%
Equatorial Guinea	894,464	500	181,657	20.30%
Eritrea	5,481,906	5,000	71,000	1.30%
Ethiopia	104,344,901	10,000	11,538,000	11.10%
Gabon	1,801,232	15,000	670,197	37.20%
Gambia	2,120,418	4,000	373,865	17.60%
Ghana	28,656,723	30,000	7,958,675	27.80%
Guinea	13,290,659	8,000	950,000	7.10%
Guinea-Bissau	1,932,871	1,500	84,000	4.30%
Kenya	48,466,928	200,000	37,718,650	77.80%
Lesotho	2,185,159	4,000	444,376	20.30%
Liberia	4,730,437	500	395,063	8.40%
Libya	6,408,742	10,000	2,800,000	43.70%
Madagascar	25,612,972	30,000	1,300,000	5.10%
Malawi	18,298,679	15,000	1,670,839	9.10%
Mali	18,689,966	18,800	2,212,450	11.80%
Mauritania	4,266,448	5,000	714,132	16.70%
Mauritius	1,281,353	87,000	803,896	62.70%
Mayotte (FR)	253,068	n/a	107,940	42.70%
Morocco	35,241,418	100,000	20,207,154	57.30%
Mozambique	29,537,914	30,000	1,834,337	6.20%
Namibia	2,568,569	30,000	520,000	20.20%
Niger	21,563,607	5,000	439,164	2.00%
Nigeria	191,835,936	200,000	93,591,174	48.80%
Reunion (FR)	873,356	130,000	390,000	44.70%
Rwanda	12,159,586	5,000	3,724,678	30.60%
Saint Helena (UK)	3,970	n/a	2,000	50.40%
Sao Tome & Principe	198,481	6,500	49,686	25.00%
Senegal	16,054,275	40,000	3,647,939	22.70%
Seychelles	97,539	6,000	56,168	57.60%
Sierra Leone	6,732,899	5,000	310,000	4.60%
Somalia	11,391,962	200	660,000	5.80%
South Africa	55,436,360	2,400,000	28,580,290	51.60%
South Sudan	13,096,190	n/a	2,179,963	16.60%
Sudan	42,166,323	30,000	10,886,813	25.80%
Swaziland	1,320,356	10,000	436,051	33.00%
Tanzania	56,877,529	115,000	3,700,000	6.50%
Togo	7,691,915	100,000	545,020	7.10%
Tunisia	11,494,760	100,000	5,800,000	50.50%
Uganda	41,652,938	40,000	13,023,114	31.30%
Western Sahara	596,021	n/a	27,000	4.50%
Zambia	17,237,931	20,000	3,167,934	18.40%
Zimbabwe	16,337,760	50,000	6,721,947	41.10%