Africa may not be occupying a leading position in the global 5G revolution, but its undeniable progress demonstrates its determination to harness the full potential of this revolutionary technology.
Many acknowledge that the Internet revolution has the potential to leave an indelible mark on a variety of industries, including healthcare, education, agriculture, and more. Encouragingly, some African countries are already seeing the tangible impact of this digital revolution within their borders.
According to a GlobalComms Database Service report monitoring 5G deployment in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), commercial 5G services are available in 18 countries in the region. Eight of these locations are in the Middle East and the remaining 10 are in Africa.
South Africa is leading the way in the African market, with around 5 million subscribers by the end of last year. In comparison, Mauritius lags far behind with only 80,000 subscribers.
The 10 African countries with the highest 5G adoption are:
rank | Country | Total number of mobile subscribers | 5G subscription | 5G share of total subscriptions |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
South Africa |
112,397,558 |
5,000,000 |
4.4% |
2 |
mauritius |
2,095,499 |
80,000 |
3.8% |
3 |
Nigeria |
209,450,208 |
50,000 |
0.0% |
Four |
Take out |
6,402,786 |
33,000 |
0.5% |
Five |
seychelles |
200,750 |
16,410 |
8.2% |
6 |
reunion |
961,000 |
13,000 |
1.4% |
7 |
Zimbabwe |
14,570,000 |
6,000 |
0.0% |
8 |
botswana |
4,363,006 |
5,000 |
0.1% |
9 |
Zambia |
20,370,000 |
5,000 |
0.0% |
Ten |
tanzania |
60,192,331 |
600 |
0.0% |