While progress has been made in expanding internet access, Africa still faces challenges in achieving optimal download speeds, lagging behind the rest of the world. As the continent transitions to 5G, several obstacles have emerged, including policy changes, and inadequate investment in digital infrastructure.
Additionally, many countries still rely on outdated 2G and 3G networks, struggling to meet modern internet demands.
Open Signal’s report titled ‘The state of mobile network experience in Africa‘ revealed that most users surveyed across different regions spent 8.3% to 38.5% of their time on 3G and 2G networks, with 63% of the markets spending over 20% of the time on older technologies that influenced both the download speed experience and consistency quality.
However, some nations have successfully facilitated a smooth transition by ensuring the necessary resources are in place.
Open Signal analyzed 27 African markets between June 1, 2024 and August 29, 2024 showing how each nation compares to its peers, using key measures, such as Download Speed Experience
According to the report, the top 10 African countries with the fastest download speeds are:
| Rank | Country | Speed (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
South Africa |
34.5 |
|
2 |
Zimbabwe |
22.9 |
|
3 |
Morocco |
22.6 |
|
4 |
Kenya |
20.8 |
|
5 |
Tunisia |
20.4 |
|
6 |
Madagascar |
20.3 |
|
7 |
Senegal |
18.1 |
|
8 |
Cote D’Ivoire |
16.8 |
|
9 |
Algeria |
15.8 |
|
10 |
Nigeria |
15.8 |
Internet consumers in South Africa observe the fastest download speed experience on the continent at 34.5Mbps. In second place is Zimbabwe with a download speed of 22.9Mbps and Morocco in third place with download speed of 22.6Mbps.
Angola, Ethiopia and Libya emerged the bottom three in the continent with internet download speed of 7.9, 9.1 and 9.1Mbps respectively.
