Top 10 African countries with low internet censorship

The Freedom on the Net 2024 (FOTN) report documents the struggles faced by the vast number of internet users across the globe as well as improvements in the accessibility and quality of internet connections offered by governments..

The rise of social media has created a new wave of positive change were citizens have been empowered in most democratic regimes to exercise their right to freedom of expression.

Free access to the internet has also enabled citizens to voice their concerns regarding government policies using numerous media platforms which are all available with the click of a phone.

Details of the FOTN statistics

The report sampled Internet users in 72 countries and revealed that about 5 billion people have access to the Internet. The report further showed that 79% of internet users sampled live in political danger zones or countries that enabled maltreatment of individuals who used online contents to express dissatisfaction with political, social, or religious issues, 67% live in countries where individuals have been attacked or killed for their online activities since June 2023.

Also, 66% are residents in countries where the government sponsored its supporters online, to manipulate discussions, and 65% live in countries where the government sanctioned the hosting of political, social, or religious content online.

Furthermore, 52% live in countries with either permanent or temporary restrictions on social media platforms while 48% live in countries where authorities disconnected internet or mobile networks, often for political reasons.

How African Countries performed

There was an improvement in press freedom according to the report, with seven African countries recording net gains and six experiencing declines.

Each country covered in the FOTN report received a numerical score from 100 (the most free) to 0 (the least free).

The internet freedom status designation for the countries is FREE (100-70 points), PARTLY FREE (69-40 points), or NOT FREE (39-0 points)

The list below shows the internet censorship level in 10 African countries and how free the citizens are on the Internet:

African countries with the worst media censorship rules at the base of the global ranking were Rwanda with a score of 36, Egypt (28), Sudan (28), and Ethiopia (27). These countries witnessed the highest forms of media censorship in Africa with government involvement of course.

Globally, findings from the report showed that 32 countries were partly free with internet usage, 21 were not free, and 19 had free access.

From Nigeria to Kenya, major protests which almost got the government to its knees were birthed from social media. Majority of internet users in some Africa countries have however, continued to face intimidation from law enforcement organizations as a result of their online activities which most of the time, counter government directives and policies.

Governments across the globe have been urged to protect citizens’ rights and freedom of expression at all costs by enabling strong legal and regulatory safeguards for digital communications and access to information.