From Africa Recovery, Vol.13#4 (December 1999), page 17 (part of special feature on information technology)

No phone, no computer for most Africans

-- Africa has some 14 mn telephone lines, or fewer than 2 per 100 people. Excluding South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa has fewer than 0.52 lines per 100 people.

-- Over 50 per cent of the lines are in urban areas. Over 70 per cent of the population is rural.

-- There is roughly 1 public telephone per 17,000 people. The world ratio is 1 per 600 people, and in high-income countries, 1 per 200.

-- Average annual growth of lines is about 10 per cent. Over a million people are on waiting lists for a phone.

-- Sahelian and Central African countries such as Niger and Zaire have fewer than 2 lines per 1,000 people.

-- North and South Africa have about 35 lines per 1,000 people.

-- West and East African coastal countries have between 2.5 and 10 lines per 1,000 people.

-- Besides North and South Africa, only Botswana, Cape Verde, Gabon, Mauritius and Swaziland have over 1 line per 50 people.

-- Most calls between African countries are still routed through Europe or the US; this costs African countries some $400 mn a year in transit fees.

-- Of Africa's roughly 1 million Internet users, 90 per cent are in South Africa.

-- Internet service providers are concentrated in capital cities; reaching the Internet from elsewhere usually means an expensive long-distance call.

-- Average costs of an Internet account for five hours a month are $60 (telephone line rental excluded). In countries with per capita incomes 10 times higher than the African average, costs of five hours of similar Internet access range from a high of $18.50 (Germany) to a low of $7.25 (US).

-- There are fewer than 3 computers per 1,000 people; 1 person in 1,500 has access to the Internet; the world average is about 1 in 40.Nearly 80 per cent of all websites are in English; only 10 per cent of the world's population speak English.

-- Africa generates some 0.4 per cent of the contents of the World Wide Web and only 0.02 per cent when South Africa is excluded.

-- Over 60 per cent of Africans can be reached through existing radio broadcasting networks.

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