According to a Gallup report titled “Growing Mobile Phone Ownership in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso have experienced the biggest growth in Africa in terms of the number of mobile phones owned by households during the five-year period between 2008 and 2013. The report says that Africa is the second-largest mobile technology market after Asia and the fastest growing region.
The report shows that between 2008 and 2013, mobile phone ownership in sub-Sahara African households went up by about 2.8 million households every year.
“Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of households in 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa had at least one mobile phone in 2013, with median growth of 27 percent since 2008 and median annual growth of five percent. But in countries such as Zimbabwe, growth has far outpaced the average, rising from 26 percent of households in 2008 to 80 percent in 2013, and nine percent annually,” Gallup said.
Following closely, with strong annual growth as well, are Mali and Zambia at 7%, and Niger, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Tanzania at 5%.
Ownership of mobile phones is a different story entirely with Mauritania having the highest percentage of household mobile ownership with 96%, followed by Botswana, 87%, Senegal, 85%, then Ghana and Zambia, 81%.
Photocredit: JigSaw
