Despite the fact that Africa has recorded a fast growth rate of internet penetration only 20 per cent of Africa’s population currently have access to the internet.
Internet Society President and Chief Executive Officer, Kathryn Brown in statement issued during the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Summit, noted that “in Africa alone, we see remarkable improvement in connectivity across the continent growing from around seven percent of the population with Internet access in 2008 to over 20 per cent with Internet access in 2015.”
According to her, mobile internet service already covers at least 48 per cent of the population worldwide and is increasingly the primary means of accessing the Internet, particularly in developing countries.
She said: “Today, the digital economy contributes 5 to 9 percent to total GDP in developed markets, and in developing markets it is growing 15 to 25 percent per year.”
She disclosed that the accelerating speed of gaining access to the Internet, and its growing impact on society, demonstrated the success and ongoing viability of a collaborative, people centered, inclusive and development- oriented information society noting that building the infrastructure in the least developed countries remains a crucial job.
