As of January 2024, there were 45.34 million active internet users in South Africa. According to the same report, close to 26 million internet users in the country used social media, around 42.8 percent of the total population. The future of internet usage in South Africa: projected growth and mobile dominance South Africa's digital population grew significantly during the last decade. In 2023, almost 44 million people were connected to the internet, up from around 25 million in 2013. Furthermore, the majority of the South African population, specifically 78.7 percent, utilized mobile devices to access the internet in 2022. This proportion will increase to over 90 percent by 2027. Additionally, the number of mobile internet users in South Africa was almost 47.8 million in 2022. Social media usage in South Africa: popularity and demographics The country's most popular social media platform during the third quarter of 2022 was Meta’s instant messaging application WhatsApp. Facebook and Instagram ranked second and third among South African internet users. Moreover, a closer look into the demographics of social media users in the country reveals that people between the ages of 25 to 34 years made up the highest share of users in South Africa.

South Africa Digital X-Ray Devices Market is segmented by Application (Orthopedic, Cancer, Dental, Cardiovascular, and other applications), Technology (Computed Radiography and Direct Radiography), Portability (Fixed Systems, and Portable Systems), End-User (Hospitals, Diagnostic Centers, Other End Users). The report offers the value (in USD million) for the above segments.

In 2022, digital advertising spending in South Africa stood at ***** billion South African rand. This constitutes an increase of approximately ** percent compared to the value of **** billion rand reported a year earlier.

South Africa’s digital signature market will grow at 25.69% CAGR by 2030, supported by increasing digital adoption in business processes and government services.

The South Africa OOH and DOOH Market Report is Segmented by Type (Traditional OOH Advertising, Digital OOH Advertising), Format (Billboard, Transit, and More), Location Environment (Outdoor, Indoor), End-User Industry (Retail and FMCG, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, and More), and Geography. The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

Digital cameras imports into South Africa totaled X units in 2017, stabilizing at the previous year. In general, digital cameras imports continue to indicate a measured growth. The pace of growth was the most pronounced in 2011, an increase of X% year-to-year. South Africa imports peaked of X units in 2012; however, from 2013 to 2017, it failed to regain its strength.In value terms, digital cameras imports amounted to $X in 2017. Overall, digital cameras imports continue to indicate a noticeable setback.

This dataset is for the paper that systematically reviewed the literature on factors that contribute to the successful development and use of the mobile digital library (DL). Selected journal articles on mobile DLs’ successful development and use were reviewed. The paper argues that the concept of DLs is evolving because of the dynamic nature of knowledge and technological developments in the infosphere. A systematic literature search of journal article factors that contribute to the successful development and use of the mobile DL was accomplished by searching the following databases: Emerald Insight, Science Directory and Google Scholar. The systematic review was conducted following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. The study applied Rogers’s (1965) Diffusion of innovation theory to unpack the attributes of innovation to unpack contextual factors shaping African conceptions of mobile libraries (m-libraries). The studies reviewed were published from 2016 to 2021. This paper is based on a systematic literature review. Therefore, the paper used publicly available literature on the theme of DLs concerning m-libraries. Among the search terms used for the study were: “digital libraries”, “Africa and digital libraries”, “electronic libraries”, “information communication technologies”, “access to information” and “mobile digital libraries”. Reviewed literature indicates that myriad factors can contribute positively or negatively to the successful development and use of the mobile DL. These factors include the degree of staff awareness and understanding of the potential of mobile technologies in enhancing the provision of library services, the availability of relevant digital content, the library staff and users’ level of digital and information literacy competencies to navigate digital platforms, user friendliness of DL platforms, material and financial support to access m-libraries, power supply and access to internet connectivity. The results from this study generated knowledge and insight into the factors that affect the development and optimal use of mobile DLs to enhance and widen access to scholarly databases irrespective of time and space. The study made recommendations that will enable South African policymakers to make informed decisions relating to the factors affecting the development and usage of mobile DLs for enhanced learning, teaching and education. Given the growing number of scholarly publications on mobile DLs, this study seeks to discover how such technologies can help enhance learning, teaching and research in higher education. This study’s findings will provide a scientific basis for policymakers and researchers with evidence-based knowledge that raises the value of mobile DLs. It was discovered that if the identified factors are handled well, users can easily access tools, such as databases, electronic journals and online reference tools, and this could improve the quality of teaching and learning.

The African digital Health Market size was valued at USD 3.8 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 16.56 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 23.4 % during the forecasts period. Africa's digital health market is mainly about the implementation of information technology solutions in the delivery of health care services in the continent. This market comprises telemedicine, eHealth, EHR, and HIRs. These applications have their major use in ensuring easy access to health care, managing diseases that are lifelong, remote consultations, and management of health information. Some of the market trends to look for are The growth in the usage of mobile phones, more internet usage, and lesser government funding for the improvement of healthcare facilities. Furthermore, COVID-19 has enhanced the use of digital health solutions, as many consumers have had to change their preferences due to the pandemic. As such barriers as low levels of computer and internet usage, the above are gradually being tackled through partnerships and funding from both government and other agencies. Recent developments include: In September 2023, Mobicel South Africa announced a partnership with Eagle Intelligent Health to connect skilled doctors with individuals who need healthcare in South Africa. This partnership will allow users of the Eagle Intelligent Health app to get virtually in touch with doctors preloaded on Mobicel phones as a utility app. , In May 2023, MediBuddy launched Eagle Intelligent Health, a telehealth app in South Africa. This app allows the individual who needs healthcare services to connect with the healthcare specialist and local skilled doctors regardless of their locations. , In May 2023, the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) launched NIGCOMHEALTH in Nigeria, a digital healthcare platform with the collaboration of Ethnomet and Sawtrax. NIGCOMHEALTH allows users to book appointments with healthcare professionals, seek medical advice and get consultations virtually regardless of their location. .

Technological advancements in the South Africa Digital Lending Platform industry are shaping the future market landscape. The report evaluates innovation-driven growth and how emerging technologies are transforming industry practices, offering a comprehensive outlook on future opportunities and market potential.

Transcripts and recordings for an exploratory study of the drivers that cause resistance to digital adoption. The study is qualitative in nature.

In 2024, the South African digital data processing machine market was finally on the rise to reach $63M after two years of decline. Overall, consumption, however, recorded a relatively flat trend pattern. Digital data processing machine consumption peaked at $67M in 2012; however, from 2013 to 2024, consumption remained at a lower figure.

In 2024, approximately ** percent of South African adults made a digital payment. At **** percent and **** percent, respectively, men and women in the country used digital payment services almost equally.

A central focus for governing bodies in Africa is the need to secure the necessary food sources to support their populations. It has been estimated that the current production of crops will need to double by 2050 to meet future needs for food production. Higher level crop-based products that can assist with managing food insecurity, such as cropping watering intensities, crop types, or crop productivity, require as a starting point precise and accurate cropland extent maps indicating where cropland occurs. Current cropland extent maps are either inaccurate, have coarse spatial resolutions, or are not updated regularly. An accurate, high-resolution, and regularly updated cropland area map for the African continent is therefore recognised as a gap in the current crop monitoring services. Key PropertiesGeographic Coverage: Continental Africa - approximately 37° North to 35 SouthTemporal Coverage: 2019Spatial Resolution: 10 x 10 meterUpdate Frequency: TBDNumber of Bands: 3 BandsParent Dataset: Digital Earth Africa's Sentinel-2 Semiannual GeoMADSource Data Coordinate System: WGS 84 / NSIDC EASE-Grid 2.0 Global (EPSG:6933)Service Coordinate System: WGS 84 / NSIDC EASE-Grid 2.0 Global (EPSG:6933)

Digital Earth Africa’s cropland extent maps for Eastern, Western, and Northern Africa show the estimated location of croplands in these countries for the period of January to December 2019:

Eastern: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda and BurundiWestern: Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Guinea-BissauNorthern: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and EgyptSahel: Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and DjiboutiSouthern: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini

Cropland is defined as:

"a piece of land of minimum 0.01 ha (a single 10m x 10m pixel) that is sowed/planted and harvestable at least once within the 12 months after the sowing/planting date."

This definition will exclude non-planted grazing lands and perennial crops which can be difficult for satellite imagery to differentiate from natural vegetation.

The provisional cropland extent maps have a resolution of 10 metres and were built using Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite images from 2019. The cropland extent maps were built separately using extensive training data from Eastern, Western, and Northern Africa, coupled with a Random Forest machine learning model. A detailed exploration of the methods used to produce the cropland extent map can be found in the Jupyter Notebooks in DE Africa’s crop-mask GitHub repository.

Independent validation datasets suggest the following accuracies:

The Eastern Africa cropland extent map has an overall accuracy of 90.3 %, and an f-score of 0.85 The Western Africa cropland extent map has an overall accuracy of 83.6 %, and an f-score of 0.75 The Northern Africa cropland extent map has an overall accuracy of 94.0 %, and an f-score of 0.91The Sahel Africa cropland extent map has an overall accuracy of 87.9 %, and an f-score of 0.78The Southern Africa cropland extent map has an overall accuracy of 86.4 %, and an f-score of 0.75

The algorithms for all regions tend to report more omission errors (labelling actual crops as non-crops) than commission errors (labelling non-crops as crops). Where commission errors occur, they tend to be focussed around wetlands and seasonal grasslands which spectrally resemble some kinds of cropping.

Available BandsBand IDDescriptionValue rangeData typeNoData/Fill valuemaskcrop extent (pixel)0 - 1uint80probcrop probability (pixel)0 - 100uint80filteredcrop extent (object-based)0 - 1uint80

mask: This band displays cropped regions as a binary map. Values of 1 indicate the presence of crops, while a value of 0 indicates the absence of cropping. This band is a pixel-based cropland extent map, meaning the map displays the raw output of the pixel-based Random Forest classification.

prob: This band displays the prediction probabilities for the ‘crop’ class. As this service uses a random forest classifier, the prediction probabilities refer to the percentage of trees that voted for the random forest classification. For example, if the model had 200 decision trees in the random forest, and 150 of the trees voted ‘crop’, the prediction probability is 150 / 200 x 100 = 75 %. Thresholding this band at > 50 % will produce a map identical to mask.

filtered: This band displays cropped regions as a binary map. Values of 1 indicate the presence of crops, while a value of 0 indicates the absence of cropping. This band is an object-based cropland extent map where the mask band has been filtered using an image segmentation algorithm (see this paper for details on the algorithm used). During this process, segments smaller than 1 Ha (100 10m x 10m pixels) are merged with neighbouring segments, resulting in a map where the smallest classified region is 1 Ha in size. The filtered dataset is provided as a complement to the mask band; small commission errors are removed by object-based filtering, and the ‘salt and pepper’ effect typical of classifying pixels is diminished.

More details on this dataset can be found here.

The South Africa digital twin market may grow at 44.83% CAGR by 2030, led by mining firms and utilities investing in virtual systems.

The compilation of a Soil and Terrain digital database for the South-African region forms a part of the ongoing activities of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) to update the world's baseline information on natural resources. The updating of world soil resources, using the Soil and Terrain (SOTER) digital database methodology, is part of a global SOTER programme and intended to replace the FAO/Unesco 1:5 million scale Soil Map of the World (1971-1981). The African sheet of this map was published in 1973 and has been compiled on basis of information and data available at that time. It is understandable that a substantial part does not reflect the present state of knowledge of the soils in that region. The national institutes, responsible for the natural resources inventories, have been collecting a wealth of new information on the distribution and occurrence of soils in their region, which has resulted in updating their national soil maps mostly at scale 1:1 million, often applying the Revised Legend (FAO, UNEP, ISRIC, 1988) for the description of the mapping units. The International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) adopted an important change in the classification used for the map by introducing lower levels of subunits of the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (IUSS, FAO, ISRIC, 1998). This, together with the new soil data available at national level, justified such an update of the soil resources for the Southern African region. The compilation of a Soil and Terrain digital database for the South-African region forms a part of the ongoing activities of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) to update the world?s baseline information on natural resources. The updating of world soil resources, using the Soil and Terrain (SOTER) digital database methodology, is part of a global SOTER programme and intended to replace the FAO/Unesco 1:5 million scale Soil Map of the World (1971-1981). The African sheet of this map was published in 1973 and has been compiled on basis of information and data available at that time. It is understandable that a substantial part does not reflect the present state of knowledge of the soils in that region. The national institutes, responsible for the natural resources inventories, have been collecting a wealth of new information on the distribution and occurrence of soils in their region, which has resulted in updating their national soil maps mostly at scale 1:1 million, often applying the Revised Legend (FAO, UNEP, ISRIC, 1988) for the description of the mapping units. The International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) adopted an important change in the classification used for the map by introducing lower levels of subunits of the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (IUSS, FAO, ISRIC, 1998). This, together with the new soil data available at national level, justified such an update of the soil resources for the Southern African region.

The South African ICT market, valued at $36.81 million in 2025, exhibits robust growth potential, projected to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.90% from 2025 to 2033. This expansion is driven by increasing digital adoption across various sectors, fueled by government initiatives promoting digital transformation and a burgeoning mobile phone and internet penetration rate. Key growth drivers include the rising demand for cloud computing services, big data analytics, cybersecurity solutions, and the expanding adoption of 5G technology. Furthermore, the increasing need for efficient and reliable communication infrastructure, particularly in underserved areas, presents significant opportunities for ICT companies. The market is segmented by type (hardware, software, IT services, telecommunication services), enterprise size (SMEs and large enterprises), and industry vertical (BFSI, IT & Telecom, Government, Retail & E-commerce, Manufacturing, Energy & Utilities, and Others). The strong presence of both multinational corporations like IBM, Microsoft, and Intel, and local players such as Vodacom and MTN, reflects the market's maturity and competitive landscape. The South African ICT market faces challenges, primarily related to infrastructure limitations, particularly in rural areas, which hinder broadband access and digital inclusion. Regulatory hurdles and cybersecurity concerns also pose potential restraints on market growth. Despite these challenges, the overall market outlook remains positive, driven by significant government investments in digital infrastructure, a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, and a young, tech-savvy population. The expanding adoption of mobile money services and the increasing use of ICT in education and healthcare further support the market's growth trajectory. The market's segmentation offers opportunities for specialized players to target niche markets, leveraging the unique needs of specific industry verticals and enterprise sizes. Future growth will depend on addressing infrastructure limitations, enhancing cybersecurity measures, and promoting digital literacy to unlock the full potential of the South African ICT market. Recent developments include: July 2024: Huawei Africa Connect 2024, themed "Accelerate Industrial Intelligence," took place in Johannesburg, South Africa. During the event, Huawei showcased its Xinghe Intelligent Network Solution, tailored for Southern Africa, which aims to propel industries toward Net5.5G and expedite their intelligent evolution. As global momentum surges toward intelligent transformation, Southern African nations are actively charting their paths toward digital and intelligent metamorphosis. In this swiftly approaching era of intelligence, networks stand out as pivotal ICT infrastructure. As the industry collectively steers toward this intelligent era, there is a growing consensus that forthcoming data communication networks in the country would be defined by Net5.5G., As of August 2024, Codehesion stands out as an award-winning software development firm, delivering top-tier solutions to South Africa's leading enterprises. The company's expertise spans custom software development, mobile app creation, design, maintenance, project management, team augmentation, and training.. Key drivers for this market are: Rapid Digital Transformation in the Financial Services Industry, Robust Rollout of 5G. Potential restraints include: Rapid Digital Transformation in the Financial Services Industry, Robust Rollout of 5G. Notable trends are: Robust 5G Deployment in the Country.

South Africa Digital Transformation in BFSI Market growth is driven by advancements in digital technologies, increasing demand for digital banking services, and the need for operational efficiency.

The South Africa Digital payment market is expected to add more than USD 1.80 billion from 2024 to 2029 due to mobile payments growth, e-commerce expansion, and financial inclusion

The size of the South Africa Data Center market was valued at USD XX Million in 2023 and is projected to reach USD XXX Million by 2032, with an expected CAGR of 21.06% during the forecast period.A data center is a type of facility which houses computer systems and associated components, including storehouses, telecommunications and storage systems. The facilities house the storing, processing, and dissemination of data and applications. Data centers are crucial for businesses and organizations of all sizes, providing the infrastructure necessary to support their digital operations.This is happening in line with increasing digitalization and adoption of cloud infrastructure that calls for reliable and secure data storage and processing capabilities. More and more businesses in South Africa, as well as other African countries, are thus looking to modernize their IT infrastructure and improve their digital services by increasing demand for data center services.A mix of traditional data centers and cloud-based solutions provides the South African data center market. The approach of traditional data centers is better suited in terms of security and control, while cloud-based solutions are flexible, scalable, and cost-effective. Thus, it can be forecasted that hybrid solutions, combining elements both of traditional and cloud-based approaches, will get the maximum popularity in a forecasted period. Recent developments include: December 2022: With a USD 160 million data center investment in JOHANNESBURG, Equinix, Inc., a provider of digital infrastructure, wants to expand its presence on the African continent beyond its current locations in NIGERIA, GHANA, and Côte d'Ivoire. In mid-2024, the brand-new data center is anticipated to open in South Africa; JN1, a new 4.0 MW data center, will offer more than 20,000 gross square feet of colocation space and 690+ cabinets. Also, there will be two further phases of development. The fully completed 20.0 MW retail complex will offer more than 100,000 gross square feet of colocation space and 3,450+ cabinets.November 2022: A new hyperscale data center facility with a 30 MW critical power load has begun construction at Teraco's Isando Campus in Ekurhuleni, South Africa, east of Johannesburg. The JB5 plant will use the most up-to-date, ecologically friendly cooling and water management designs, and it is expected to finish by 2024.August 2022: Africa Data Centres, a subsidiary of the pan-Asian Cassava Technologies Group, a second data center was planned to be built in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 10MW to 40MW of IT load and is expected to complete by 2025.. Key drivers for this market are: Rise of E-Commerce, Flourishing Startup Culture. Potential restraints include: Slow Penetration Rate in Developing Countries. Notable trends are: OTHER KEY INDUSTRY TRENDS COVERED IN THE REPORT.

This dataset contains sub-meter resolution digital elevation models and orthomosaics of the Kruger National Park, South Africa, generated from aerial images captured by Digital Mapping Camera (DMC) during September and October 2018.

The use of digital elevation models has proven to be crucial in a large number of studies related to savanna ecosystem research. However, the insufficient spatial resolution of the input data is often considered to be a limiting factor when conducting local to regional ecosystem analysis. The elevation models and orthorectified imagery created in this dataset represent the first wall-to-wall digital elevation products of the Kruger National Park (KNP) in South Africa at 25 cm pixel posting. In the light of regular flight campaigns carried out by the South African government, the workflow of the presented data sets can be reused to create height models and orthorectified images of a vulnerable ecosystem in the future. Flight campaigns were carried out by GeoSpace International, Pretoria. Data processing and preparation as well as validation of the final products was carried out by Kai Heckel (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany) with the strong support of all co-authors of the related study.

The methodology is described in the following publication:

Heckel, K.; Urban, M.; Bouffard, J.-S.; Baade, J.; Boucher, P.; Davies, A.; Hockridge, E.G.; Lück, W.; Ziemer, J.; Smit, I.; Jacobs, B.; Norris-Rogers, M.; Schmullius, C. (2021): The first sub-meter resolution digital elevation model of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Koedoe.