Mobile’s impact on the SDGs in Sub-Saharan Africa
By the end of 2023, 520 million people subscribed to mobile services in Sub-Saharan Africa, representing 44% of the population – an increase of 190 million since 2015.
Moreover, during the same period, the number of mobile internet subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa nearly tripled, rising from 110 million to 320 million people. This highlights how mobile represents a growing platform to accelerate Sub-Saharan Africa’s progress on the SDGs and to drive socioeconomic advancement in areas such as healthcare, education, digital commerce, industrial automation and smart city infrastructure. This is evidenced by the continued uptake of mobile money, which reached 835 million registered accounts in the region in 2023 (a year-on-year increase of 19%).
Despite strong progress in a number of areas, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the largest usage gap and coverage gap, impeding progress across a range of SDGs. Additionally, Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest gender gap, with the difference between male and female mobile ownership remaining relatively unchanged since 2017. This limits the region’s progress on SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.
SDG mobile impact scores, Sub-Saharan Africa
Source: GSMA Intelligence
Key drivers of SDG mobile impact scores
Mobile broadband coverage and penetration, Sub-Saharan Africa
Source: GSMA Intelligence
| 2015 | 2023 | 2015 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile broadband coverage (% of total population) | 520 million | 1 billion | 54% | 87% |
| Mobile penetration (% of total population) | 330 million | 530 million | 34% | 44% |
| Mobile internet penetration (% of total population) | 110 million | 320 million | 11% | 27% |
Mobile usage by activity, Sub-Saharan Africa
Source: GSMA Intelligence
| Use cases | 2015 | 2023 | 2015 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use mobile financial services | 55 million | 280 million | 18% | 54% |
| Use social media | 110 million | 230 million | 33% | 44% |
| Watch videos | 95 million | 230 million | 29% | 43% |
| Make video calls | 60 million | 200 million | 18% | 37% |
| Read news | 110 million | 180 million | 34% | 34% |
| Search for information | 45 million | 140 million | 14% | 27% |
| Access information to support training, learning or education | 35 million | 140 million | 10% | 27% |
| Manage or pay bills | 25 million | 140 million | 8% | 26% |
| Access information to help with work or job | 30 million | 140 million | 10% | 25% |
| Access government services/ information | 25 million | 110 million | 8% | 21% |
| Access health services/ information | 15 million | 110 million | 5% | 20% |
| Buy goods or services | 20 million | 80 million | 6% | 15% |
| Use agricultural services | 10 million | 50 million | 3% | 10% |