Deliberate Internet shutdowns have cost Ethiopia an estimated $663 million so far in 2023
Deliberate Internet and social media shutdowns from Jan to Jul 2023 have cost the affected economies an estimated $2.1 billion combined, with Ethiopia the most affected. Asian and sub-Saharan African countries are the hardest hit.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest mobile data usage globally, at 6.7 GB/month, which is less than one-third of the global average.
India, Nepal, and Bhutan top the global chart with the highest data consumption at 36 GB/month, signalling deep mobile integration in daily life.
Gulf Cooperation Council countries follow closely with 31.9 GB/month.
Western Europe and North America share the same high usage rate of 25.8 GB/month, indicating mature digital economies with consistent connectivity.
Latin America also lags, though still more than twice ahead of Sub-Saharan Africa at 15.2 GB/month.
The Middle East and North Africa surpass the global average too, at 22.7 GB/month, further highlighting the unique lag of Sub-Saharan Africa in mobile data use.
A staggering 96.3% of users access the internet via mobile devices, making smartphones the most important digital tools in the world today.
While 82.7% of the global urban population is online, only 47.4% of the rural population has access. That’s a huge gap that reflects deep inequalities in infrastructure and digital opportunity.
Spending 6 hours and 38 minutes online every day isn’t just scrolling time; it’s a shift in how humans live, learn, and earn. It’s equivalent to more than 100 full days online per year per person.
Although mobile dominates, 61.5% of users still access the internet through computers, proving that traditional devices still matter for work, school, or content creation.
While 70% of men use the internet, 65.7% of women do. This gap may seem small, but on a global scale, it represents millions of women without access to tools for learning, income, and visibility.
With billions spending almost 7 hours daily online, the internet is where decisions are made, opinions are formed, and lives are influenced.
India tops the list with 651.6 million people offline — almost five times Nigeria’s number, but a smaller percentage (44.7%) of its population.
China has 311.9 million unconnected people, but that’s only 22% of its population.
With 78.7% of its population offline (105.2M people), Ethiopia has the lowest internet penetration among the top countries listed.
Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Pakistan all have over 50% of their populations unconnected.
Despite their smaller populations, over 70% of people in both Tanzania and Uganda remain offline.
While Nigeria is a regional tech hub, it still has over 128 million people offline, pointing to a major disconnect between urban tech growth and rural internet access.
With a median mobile download speed of 441.89 Mbps, the UAE is in a league of its own, setting a high benchmark for digital infrastructure globally.
At just 18.91 Mbps, Nigeria ranks 102nd, only narrowly ahead of countries like Ecuador and Libya. This means the digital experience for most Nigerians is significantly slower than the global average.
The difference between the fastest and slowest countries spans over 400 Mbps, showing a growing divide in how nations can participate in digital economies.
Countries like Denmark, South Korea, Norway, and the Netherlands continue to show strong mobile connection.
It's notable that Qatar and Kuwait, alongside the UAE, are not just energy-rich but also leaders in mobile connectivity.
Several African nations, Nigeria, Libya, and Mozambique, feature among the slowest, highlighting the urgent need for investment in faster, more reliable mobile networks across the continent.
