Zimbabwe had the most expensive mobile internet in Africa as of 2023. One gigabyte cost on average 43.75 U.S. dollars in the African country, the highest worldwide. Overall, the cost of mobile data varied significantly across the continent. South Sudan and The Central African Republic also recorded elevated prices for mobile data, positioning among the 10 countries with the highest prices for data globally. By contrast, one gigabyte cost 0.38 U.S. dollars in Malawi, the lowest average price registered in Africa.

Determinants for high pricing

On average, one gigabyte of mobile internet in Sub-Saharan Africa amounted to 3.31 U.S. dollars in 2023, one of the highest worldwide, according to the source. In Northern Africa, the price for mobile data was far lower, 0.86 U.S. dollars on average. Few factors influence the elevated prices of mobile data in Africa, such as high taxation and the lack of infrastructure. In 2021, around 57.1 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa lived within a range of 25 kilometers from fiber networks.

Mobile connectivity

Over 530 million people are estimated to be connected to the mobile internet in Africa as of 2022. The coverage gap has decreased in the continent but remained the highest worldwide in 2022. That year, 15 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa lived in areas not covered by a mobile broadband network. Additionally, the adoption of mobile internet is not equitable, as it is more accessible to men than women as well as more spread in urban than rural areas.

One gigabyte of mobile internet in South Africa cost, on average, 1.18 U.S. dollars in 2023. The country ranked 149 in 237 countries worldwide, from the cheapest to the most expensive for mobile data. Out of 46 plans measured in South Africa, the lowest price observed was 0.1 U.S. dollars per 1GB for a 30 days plan.

One gigabyte for mobile internet in Nigeria cost on average 39 U.S. cents as of August 2023. The country ranked 31st in a list of 237 countries worldwide, from the cheapest to the most expensive for mobile data. In the regional comparison, Nigeria was among the nations with lower costs for mobile data in Africa. Out of 55 plans analyzed in the country, the lowest price observed was 0.13 U.S. dollars per 1GB for a 30 days plan. In the most expensive plan, 1GB cost 1.64 U.S. dollars.

One gigabyte of mobile internet in Somalia cost, on average, 0.5 U.S. dollars in 2023. Out of 25 plans measured in Somalia, the lowest price observed was 0.19 U.S. dollars per 1GB for a 30 days plan. In the most expensive plan, 1GB cost 1.67 U.S. dollars.

India’s digital journey is one of exuberance. The country had the world’s second-largest internet population at over 1.2 billion users in 2023. Of these, 1.05 billion users accessed the internet via their mobile phones. Estimates suggest that this figure would reach over 1.2 billion by 2050.

The path towards digital India

Mobile internet has been such a positive development in the country’s digital progress, that in 2019, over 73 percent of India’s total web traffic coming from mobile phones. But how did this come to be? Two main factors point to the sudden spike in mobile internet penetration in the south Asian country. Firstly, the increased availability of cheap smartphones since 2010 had created a fertile ground for digital adoption and literacy. Along with this, the Indian government understood the vitality of investments in its telecommunications sector and further opened the market with new telecom spectrum licenses.

Reliance Jio - the market disruptor

With this backdrop, in September 2016, Reliance Jio entered the Indian market, promising customers with cheap 4G, high speed data plans along with free voice calling. Within six months of its launch, the company had attracted over a 100 million customers and by the end of 2019, it had the highest wireless telecom subscriber base in India. Jio’s competitive pricing drove down the data pricing among other established telecom operators, leading to a cumulative growth in mobile internet accessibility as well as affordability.

One gigabyte of mobile internet in Ethiopia costs, on average, 0.68 U.S. dollar in 2023. The country ranked 69 in 237 countries worldwide, from the cheapest to the most expensive for mobile data. Out of nine plans measured in Ethiopia, the lowest price observed was 0.11 U.S. dollars per 1GB for a 30 days plan.

One gigabyte for mobile internet in Kenya cost on average 0.59 U.S. dollars in 2023. Out of 36 plans measured in Kenya, the lowest price observed was 0.18 U.S. dollars per 1GB, for a 30 days plan. In the most expensive plan, 1GB cost 1.03 U.S. dollars.

Within the Asia Pacific region, South Korea had the highest average IPv4 internet connection speed at 28.6 megabits per second (Mbps). Considering this, it comes as no surprise that South Korea also had the highest internet penetration rate and the highest 4G download speed  across Asia. This was due to governmental efforts to facilitate the expansion and improvement of internet. 

Current state of internet in Asia 

Although Singapore had the third-fastest average IPv4 connection speed as of 2017, in 2018, it nonetheless had the fastest internet overall with a mean download speed of 60.39 Mbps, surpassing larger countries such as the U.S. and Germany.  Although India and the Philippines had the lowest average internet connection speeds, its year-on-year growth was higher than the leading countries with respectively 87% and 57%. In the Philippines, the government carried out a National Broadband Plan (NBP) to increase nationwide internet access. Similarly, the Indian government had also proposed a national broadband network to connect all cities and villages. 

Internet connection speed explained 

Megabits per second (Mbps) refer to the speed with which information can be downloaded or uploaded from and to the internet. For the Federal Communications Commission, a sufficient broadband internet connection requires a minimum of 25 Mbps for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads. In the world of internet, connection speeds above 20 Mbps enable swift web surfing, HD content streaming as well as fast downloads. 

With fast and cheap mobile data plans and the largest population in the world, India has a lot to offer in the smartphone industry. Most of the Indian people use smartphones to connect to the internet, making it a huge market for many smartphone brands. Around 46 million smartphone units were shipped across India in the third quarter of 2024. Over the presented period, a general growth trend could be observed. Smartphone users in India The Indian smartphone user base has a lot of potential to grow since many people still do not have internet subscription. However, the initiative by the central government to digitize the economy and the availability of cheap internet plans by private sector firms such as Reliance Jio, has resulted in a significant increase. The smartphone user base in India is predicted to cross 75 percent by 2025. The market of smartphones in India The Indian smartphone market is filled with many brands. Samsung, the global giant in electronics from South Korea, accounted for around 17 percent of the shipment share of smartphones across India in 2023. In July 2023, Realme C53 was the best-selling smartphone in the country with four percent of the total market share.

India’s digital adoption has been driven by the rural heartland of the country, registering a high growth of internet users compared to their urban counterparts. In 2023, there were 442 million internet users in rural India, accounting for more than half the country's netizens. Bridging the internet gap This jump in rural internet penetration was largely owing to the increased availability of bandwidth, cheap data plans and various government initiatives under the Digital India campaign. As of 2022, over 181 thousand village and small-town councils, called Gram Panchayats, were equipped with internet access across India. Of these, Uttar Pradesh had the maximum connectivity in its rural areas with 38 thousand internet equipped gram panchayats. These factors also led to an overall spike in the internet penetration rates across the country. From just over 27 percent internet penetration rate in 2015, India reached almost 49 percent in 2022. A perspective on the numbers Although these figures seem relatively low, it indicated that about 692 million would be internet users by January 2023. This ranked India second in terms of active internet users across the world that same year.