Africa internet usage reaches 110.1m

The Internet usage on the African soil has grown to 110,931,700, according to Internet World Statistic.com,

The report made available to ITRealms Online on Monday, August 1, indicated that as at June 30, 2010, Africa’s figure on internet usage has reached 110,931,700, which is 2,357.3 per cent growth between 2000 and 2010.

Also, Egypt seems to be on top of the African growth with 17,060,000 users, 21.2 per cent penetration per population and 3,691.1 per cent user growth, just as Algeria recorded 13.6 per cent penetration and 9,300.0 per cent users’ growth.

For Nigeria, it is 43,982,200 internet users, 28.9 per cent penetration per population and 21,891.1 per cent for users’ growth.

Above all, the chief executive officer of Miniwatts Marketing Group, Mr. Enrique de Argaez, noted that the growth in Africa’s Internet and Broadband sector has accelerated in recent years due to improvements in infrastructure, the arrival of wireless access technologies and lower tariffs. Broadband is rapidly replacing dial-up as the preferred access method.

This process is already virtually completed in Africa’s more developed markets. This report provides 126 statistical tables showing trends and developments in the telecommunications markets of the 38 most significant African countries in terms of telecommunications.

He pointed out that while being the world’s most rapidly growing market for mobile telephony, Africa is also home to some of the fastest growing fixed-line markets in the world.

“Africa still has some of the world’s lowest penetration rates in both market sectors,” he said, stressing that the difficulties of rolling out fixed-line networks across its vast land mass meant that by early-2009 mobile users constituted around 90 per cent of all African telephone subscribers.

Meanwhile, the Internet World Statistics (IWS) in 2008 declared a fantastic growth in the internet penetration globally to the tune of over 1,573,269,743 persons worldwide, which amounted to 23.4 per cent penetration rate as at the last quarter of 2008.

However, IWS justified its percentage mark based on the considerate global population of 6,708,755,756 persons according to the United States’ Census Bureau data.

IWS informed that Internet had fantastic expansion in 2008, because almost every region of the world recorded interesting growth. “All world regions showed growth, however, at very different rates,” part of the press statement read, attributing this development to cultural, social and economic differences.

“It is quite normal due to cultural, social, and economic differences prevailing in each part of the world as well as the already existing number of users in each region,” IWS said.

Further, IWS noted that it did not want to publish this information before now, but due to various conflicting reports, it was forced to, hence it apologized for publishing partial result.

“… Because, we have not finished updating all the Internet World Stats website. Circumstances beyond our control have forced us to speak up and publish partially updated statistics, sorry about this,” IWS said.

According to IWS, useful growth trends were evident at the various geographic regions, noting that the number of Internet users in the world grew by 253,397,634 persons in 2008 alone.

This, IWS said represents a 19.2 per cent yearly increase with regard to the number of estimated users that existed one year ago at year-end 2007.

Described as the “early adopters” IWS said North America and Australia showed the smallest growth in the year under review.

“This is considered a normal behavior because the “early adopters” have already completed their fast growth phase,” IWS explained, pointing out that the Internet penetration rates were already very high in those areas.

The territories and regions identified as “late adopters” logically are just initiating their high growth rates, such as South America, the Middle East the Caribbean, and Africa show this trend, with corresponding high growth rates of 63.2 per cent, 34.6 per cent, 33.6 per cent and 19.8 per cent.

IWS noted that Internet users in Europe increased by 48,709,081 persons, while the region finalizes its fast growth phase, evidenced by the low 14.0 per cent growth rate.

Asia, on the other hand, according to the report, is just starting its high growth phase and the current growth rate of 26.8 per cent would soon go up.

“Asia Internet users increased by 136,689,484 persons and is by far the region with the largest population of Internet users,” IWS said.

The current low Internet penetration rate in Asia indicates that there is much potential for future Internet usage growth in Asia.


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