In March 2021, ** percent of micro and small enterprises in Kenya registered an increase in the number of customers paying digitally. The usage of digital payments was, however, stronger in 2020, when the lockdown was implemented to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19). Between April and July that year, ** percent of small businesses recorded an increment in the number of clients paying through digital methods.

As of 2022, cash was the main payment method used in online retail in Morocco, Kenya, and Egypt, accounting for ** percent, ** percent, and ** percent of the total, respectively. On the other hand, cash was not that prevalent in South Africa, where ** percent of e-commerce payments occurred by card, and ** percent by bank transfer. In Nigeria, most digital buyers used card-based payments (** percent) and bank transfers (** percent). Cash is still the most popular payment method The majority of the transactions in Africa occur in ****. Most countries on the continent rely significantly on ****, which is frequently used also in informal economies. Since credit cards are still not common in Africa, other payment methods are usually preferred. The same applies to online retail. When purchasing online, customers often use *************************. Despite country-specific differences, cash remains the leading payment method in Africa. Nevertheless, the use of mobile money has been growing significantly in recent years. In 2021, Sub-Saharan Africa was the leading region by number of mobile money accounts worldwide. This payment method represents a huge potential for digital payments in a continent where a limited share of the population owns a bank account. E-commerce growth in Africa E-commerce in Africa has been rapidly expanding in recent years. This growth was due to several factors, including demographic trends as well as the increasingly higher levels of internet penetration. On the continent, online retail generates the highest revenues in Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya. **************************************** are among the leading online marketplaces, all local websites. Founded in Nigeria in 2012, ***** was the most popular e-commerce platform by number of visitors. The number of online shoppers in Africa is forecast to increase in the coming years to exceed *** million by 2025.

As of the third quarter of 2024, South Africa was the leading country in Africa in the adoption of mobile payment methods. In this country, around 22.8 percent of internet users made mobile payments on a monthly basis. Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt followed, with 20.1 percent, 17 percent, and 14.9 percent of internet users, respectively. In that year, the global average stood at 24 percent.

Over the last two observations, the number of users is forecast to significantly increase in all regions. From the selected regions, the ranking by number of users in the e-commerce market is forecast to be lead by the Nigeria with 28.57 million users. In contrast, the ranking is trailed by Kenya with 5.7 million users, recording a difference of 22.87 million users to the Nigeria. Find other insights concerning similar markets and segments, such as a comparison of revenue in Costa Rica and a comparison of average revenue per user (ARPU) in Russia.The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

M-Pesa – one of the largest mobile money services in Africa – has seen a steady increase in customer numbers from 2017 to 2025, eventually reaching over **** million customers in the financial year ending 31 March 2025. M-Pesa is a mobile money service run by Vodafone and Kenyan telecommunications provider Safaricom, that provides payment and financial services, even if a customer has no access to a bank account. M-Pesa is also Known as Vodafone Cash in Ghana and Egypt.

The lack of digital skills concerns a large share of the African population. In 2019, the adoption rate of digital skills stood at only ** percent in Mozambique and ** percent in Côte d’Ivoire, meaning that most of the people were not able to use digital devices and applications, nor access the internet. However, the levels of digital literacy in the continent are forecast to increase. For instance, they would reach ** percent of the population in Kenya by 2030, up from ** percent in 2019.

The average revenue per user in the e-commerce market in Kenya was modeled to be ****** U.S. dollars in 2024. Between 2017 and 2024, the average revenue per user rose by **** U.S. dollars, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend. The average revenue per user is forecast to decline by ***** U.S. dollars from 2024 to 2029, fluctuating as it trends downward.Further information about the methodology, more market segments, and metrics can be found on the dedicated Market Insights page on eCommerce.

As of October 2025, Nigeria had 107 million internet users—the highest number reported all over Africa. Meanwhile, Egypt ranked second with over 96 million users. The majority of web traffic in leading digital markets in Africa originated from mobile devices. This is due in part to the fact that mobile connections are much cheaper and do not require the infrastructure that is needed for traditional desktop PCs with fixed-line internet connections. Anticipating notable growth: Africa's internet user rise and projected milestones The projected trend for Africa indicates a consistent rise in internet users from 2024 to 2029. It will have a collective addition of 337.3 million users (equivalent to a growth of 51.79 percent). Following fifteen successive years of growth, the user count is anticipated to reach a record high of 1.1 billion by 2029. Furthermore, the online penetration rate on the continent was 43 percent, which was below the global average, measured at around 68 percent. Unveiling internet trends The region has witnessed a steady increase in internet users over the years. In January 2024, Southern Africa stood out as the African region with the most sizable internet penetration rate, reaching approximately 73.1 percent. The proportion of individuals accessing the internet in this part of Africa and Northern Africa surpassed the global average (66.2 percent). Moreover, Morocco boasted an impressive internet penetration of about 91 percent, securing its position as Africa's foremost country. Libya held the second position with a penetration rate of approximately 88 percent, followed closely by Seychelles at around 86.7 percent.

Digital shopping in Africa increased since the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. According to an online survey conducted in 2020 and 2021, 81 percent of consumers in Nigeria are shopping more online since the beginning of the pandemic. The health crisis led to increasing demand for e-commerce in Africa. Kenya and Ghana registered an increment of 79 percent in online purchases. In South Africa, online shopping grew by 68 percent. There, over half of consumers reported that they were buying more groceries and clothing items online.

As of January 2020, there were *** active digital agriculture advisory services in Sub-Saharan Africa. Financial services related to digital agriculture were instead ***. Digitalization in Africa has been increasing in recent years, leading to the development of the agri-tech, smart farming, and agricultural e-commerce. In 2020, digital agriculture services were particularly concentrated in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana.

As of February 2025, Morocco had an internet penetration of over 92 percent, making it the country with the highest internet penetration in Africa. Libya ranked second, with 88.5 percent, followed by Seychelles with over 87 percent. On the other hand, The Central African Republic, Chad, and Burundi had the lowest prevalence of internet among their population. Varying but growing levels of internet adoption Although internet usage varies significantly across African countries, the overall number of internet users on the continent jumped to around 646 million from close to 181 million in 2014. Of those, almost a third lived in Nigeria and Egypt only, two of the three most populous countries on the continent. Furthermore, internet users are expected to surge, reaching over 1.1 billion users by 2029. Mobile devices dominate web traffic Most internet adoptions on the continent occurred recently. This is among the reasons mobile phones increasingly play a significant role in connecting African populations. As of early January 2024, around 74 percent of the web traffic in Africa was via mobile phones, over 14 percentage points higher than the world average. Furthermore, almost all African countries have a higher web usage on mobile devices compared to other devices, with rates as high as 92 percent in Sudan. This is partly due to mobile connections being cheaper and not requiring the infrastructure needed for traditional desktop PCs with fixed-line internet connections.

The global tea market was valued at around *** billion U.S. dollars in 2025, and is expected to rise to *** billion dollars by 2030. Tea has a long history of popularity worldwide. It is thought to have originated in China, with records of its use dating back to the 3rd century AD. Originally used as a medicinal beverage, the drink was popularized for recreational use during the Tang dynasty and spread to other Asian countries. After European traders brought the leaves back to Europe in the 16th century, its popularity spread in the West as well. Production Today, ***** is still the leader in tea production. The country produced over *** million metric tons of it in 2023. Other large producers are India and Kenya. These regions are hospitable to Camellia sinensis, the plant used to produce tea, which needs a tropical or subtropical climate. Consumption While Pakistan and the United States are the ******* importer of tea worldwide, buying over *** billion dollars’ worth in 2024, it is the citizens of Turkey who are most fond of the beverage. In 2016, the average Turkish person consumed nearly ***** pounds of tea during the year.

As of October 2025, Eastern Asia and Northern Europe recorded the highest social media penetration rates worldwide, at **** percent and ** percent, respectively. In contrast, Eastern and Middle Africa had the lowest levels of social network usage. Overall, the global average penetration rate stood at **** percent. Global social media use In 2023, **** billion people around the world were using social media, and the number of users is projected to continue rising to almost six billion by 2027. *************** is the most popular social media network globally, with more than ***** billion monthly active users (MAU). Meta Platforms owns four of the ten leading social media networks globally, each with more than *** billion MAU: Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. Social Media Usage, by country As of January 2024, the UAE had the highest social media penetration rate out of selected countries and territories. Brazil and Morocco were close to the global average of **** percent, with **** and **** percent, respectively, while Kenya reached only **** percent. Although India’s active social media penetration rate was below average at **** percent, the country had the second largest social media audience in the world, with *** million social media users in 2022.

Electric mobility is still in development in Africa. Battery electric vehicles' sales on the continent have overall increased in recent years, although have remained the lowest worldwide. South Africa, which has the most advanced e-mobility market in Africa, counted about ***** electric vehicles (EVs) in 2022 - out of a total fleet of ** million automobiles. In Kenya, the number of EVs was estimated at ***, while a total of some *** million registered vehicles were likely in use in the country.

The Internet penetration rate in Tanzania more than doubled between 2013 and 2020, reaching ** percent in 2020. That same year, ** percent of the population were using a voice telecom service.

Mobile phone usage in Tanzania Tanzania’s mobile industry has been growing since the early *****. Out of the ** million mobile voice subscriptions registered in 2018, roughly half the devices were used to access the internet, indicating the comparatively high number of basic cellphones throughout the country. Apart from voice calls, mobile phones in Tanzania are primarily used for SMS and mobile money services, provided by telecom operators like Vodacom, Tigo and Airtel.

Distribution of web traffic
In 2018, over ** percent of Tanzania’s ** million internet users accessed the internet via mobile phone. A similar distribution of web traffic can be seen in other leading African digital markets like Kenya and Nigeria, where mobile phones generated significantly more traffic than PCs. With its ** percent internet penetration rate, Tanzania was well above the estimated African average penetration rate of **** percent in 2019.

The variety of products that can be purchased online is continuously growing. Among Kenyan consumers the two most popular categories for online purchases are Clothing and Shoes. ** percent and ** percent of consumers respectively chose these answers in our representative online survey. The survey was conducted online among ***** respondents in Kenya, in 2023. Statista Consumer Insights offer you all results of our exclusive Statista surveys, based on more than ********* interviews.

Nigerian e-commerce platform Jumia had 2.4 million quarterly active customers in the third quarter of 2024, up from two million active customers in the previous quarter. The platform is available to customers in several African countries.

Since the 1950s, the number of forcibly displaced persons recognized by the United Nations has increased drastically; from around 2.1 million international refugees in 1951 to almost 123 million displaced persons in total in 2023. Annual figures are not reflective of the actual number of forcibly displaced people in the world, but rather the number of people identified as such by the UN. Preliminary figures for 2024 show that this figure may now reach the 125 million mark, with major new crises in Sudan and Palestine sending this figure higher, after the Russia-Ukraine War pushed this figure past 100 million people for the first time in 2022. UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was founded in 1950 to deal with the large number of displaced persons in Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War. Since then, the scale and geographical scope of its operations has broadened significantly, as it works to provide humanitarian aid, logistical support, and long-term solutions to crises across the globe. The UNHCR played an instrumental role in facilitating or limiting the impact of many decolonization movements across Africa and Asia in the late 20th century, and, in recent decades, it has provided much-needed assistance in conflict areas, such as the Balkans in the 1990s, Afghanistan since the 2000s, and more recently in Syria and Yemen. Alongside the UNHCR, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established in 1949 to provide similar assistance programs for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, and it is currently operational in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the State of Palestine, but its future remains uncertain after the Israeli parliament revoked its license to operate in the country in October 2024. Long-term crises Persistent instability in Sub-Saharan Africa has also been a major area of focus throughout the UNHCR's history, as economic and structural underdevelopment, alongside conflict and political instability, has created several refugee crises that are now in their fourth decade. While countries such as Colombia, Germany, and Turkey have, to varying degrees, successfully managed refugee crises in recent years, the economies of most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are not equipped to do so. Displacement has placed a great strain on several regions' already-struggling resources, and these are now also being affected by climate change. Countries such as Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda are home to camps or camp networks that house several hundred thousand refugees, with some of the largest in Kenya being established in the early 1990s.