Telecom subscriptions in Tanzania more than doubled within a decade

Just like Nigeria, Tanzania has more mobile subscriptions than its population. As of December 2023, Nigeria had a teledensity of 103.66%. With a population of 67.4 million as of 2023, the East African country had 70.3m telecom subscriptions, up from 32 million in 2014.

Source:
Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority
Period:
2014 - 2023
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Tanzania recorded the highest percentage change in Internet subscriptions in 2014
Tanzania's Internet subscriptions surged from 9.31 million in 2013 to 39.3 million as of June 2024, reflecting an average annual growth of 2.72 million. Apart from slower growth in 2018 and 2020, with 148,000 and 284,000 new subscriptions, respectively, the East African nation has consistently expanded its digital reach. Notably, mobile wireless subscriptions accounted for a staggering 99.75% of all Internet subscriptions in Tanzania.
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MTN Nigeria has dominated the country's telecommunications market over the years, accounting for the largest market share. All four operators, apart from 9mobile, recorded a significant increase in their subscriber base between May 2014 and March 2024.

Nigeria: Northern states led internet subscriber growth from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024
Internet subscribers in Nigeria increased by 4.3% from 157.6m in March 2023 to 164.4m as of March 2024, an addition of 6.817m new subscribers. Lagos State has the largest share of active internet subscribers in Nigeria, but Nasarawa gained the most new subscribers in one year. assarawa (604k) got the most new subscribers between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024, followed by Niger (456k) and Kano (387k). Benue (368k) and Kwara (315k) also saw impressive subscriber growth. Bauchi, Taraba, Katsina, Adamawa, and Kogi completed the top ten.
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South Sudan tops the list of African countries with the most breached online accounts since 2004
Surfshark's data reveals that 17.2b online accounts have been compromised globally since 2004, with African countries accounting for 250.7m (1.45%). South Sudan has the highest number of breached online accounts in Africa, with over 89 million compromised accounts. South Africa and Egypt follow with 0.2% and 0.13% of the global figure, respectively. Nigeria ranks fourth with 19.3 million breaches. Although Africa's share of global breaches is relatively low, the potential harm is significant. Recently, unauthorised websites reportedly sold Nigerians' data, including NIN, BVN, and driver's licenses, for as little as ₦100. These breaches pose serious privacy, financial security, and national safety risks, calling our attention to the urgent need for robust data protection measures.
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