Skip to content
Insights Centre
Indicators · Digital and financial inclusion

People using the internet

Estimated number of people who used the internet in the last three months, from population and the internet use rate.

Why it matters

The reachable audience for e-commerce, digital finance, streaming and online services, in people rather than percentages.

Read with care

Derived from two estimates. Internet use rates for several countries are modelled by the ITU rather than surveyed.

Source

dotzedw

people. 54 African countries, 1990 to 2024.

People online: highest in South Africa, lowest in Seychelles

People using the internet, people. Latest year available, 2024. 16 of 16 countries have data.

910k
2m
6m
15m
No data
Loading map…
Source: dotzedw· Get the data (Professional)·dotzedw Insights Centre

Ranked: people onlineiWhy it mattersThe reachable audience for e-commerce, digital finance, streaming and online services, in people rather than percentages.

Click a country to highlight it.

010m20m30m40m50mSouth Africa50.2mDRC21.5mTanzania21.4mAngola15.4mMozambique7.1mZimbabwe6.9mMadagascar6.0mMalawi4.1mZambia3.6mNamibia2.0mBotswana1.4mLesotho1.2mMauritius913kEswatini788kComoros282kSeychelles107kmedian 3.9m
dotzedw Insights Centre
How spread out SADC is
Median 3.9mLog scaleLowest: Seychelles 107kHighest: South Africa 50.2m

Over time

Ten years of history for every indicator is free with a Reader account

Sign up with your email address on dotzedw.com and you come straight back to this page. Your free account also brings the weekly SADC Deals Brief and five full deal records a month. Already have an account? Sign in.

People using the internet against income per person

Each bubble is a SADC country, sized by population. Dashed lines mark the SADC medians. Countries far from the pattern are worth a closer look.

0.010.0m20.0m30.0m40.0m50.0m$1,000$3,000$10kGDP per person, US$ (log scale)People onlineDRCTanzaniaSouth AfricaAngolaMozambiqueMalawiZambiaZimbabwe
Source: dotzedw, World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Table

The same figures as the map, for screen readers and copying.
RankCountryValueYearFive-year changeGradeDetails
1South Africa50.2m2024up 21% since 2019C
2DRC21.5m2024up 78% since 2019C
3Tanzania21.4m2024up 118% since 2019C
4Angola15.4m2024up 48% since 2019C
5Mozambique7.1m2024up 91% since 2019C
6Zimbabwe6.9m2024up 71% since 2019C
7Madagascar6.0m2024up 126% since 2019C
8Malawi4.1m2024up 95% since 2019C
9Zambia3.6m2024up 36% since 2019C
10Namibia2.0m2024up 49% since 2019C
11Botswana1.4m2024up 27% since 2019C
12Lesotho1.2m2024up 30% since 2019C
13Mauritius913k2024up 17% since 2019C
14Eswatini788k2024up 52% since 2019C
15Comoros282k2024up 119% since 2019C
16Seychelles107k2024up 42% since 2019C