A report by World Bank has revealed that only 22 per cent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa had access to mobile internet services at the end of 2021.
Titled, “Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs,” the report stated that despite the increased connectivity of the world, there were still significant gaps in access to technology, especially in Africa as lack of mobile internet access continued to hamper job creation and poverty reduction in the region.
The report highlighted the largest gap between the availability of digital infrastructure and people’s actual usage in sub-Saharan Africa compared to all other regions in the world.
According to the report, African countries are in critical need to increase the uptake of digital technologies to drive employment growth and reduce poverty.
It revealed that on average, 84 per cent of a given country’s population had at least some level of 3G mobile internet availability, and 63 per cent had some level of 4G mobile internet services.
However, only 22 per cent of the population used mobile internet services by the end of 2021.
This disparity in usage rates ranges from six per cent in South Sudan to 53 per cent in South Africa, demonstrating the need for differentiated policy reforms across countries.
The report emphasised the critical need for African countries to increase the uptake of digital technologies to drive employment growth for the more than 22 million Africans joining the workforce each year.
Africa’s share of the global workforce was projected to become the largest in the world by 2100, making it vital to increase the uptake of digital technologies to create jobs and reduce poverty.