According to the latest AFRICASCOPE results for the year 2022/2023, internet usage in the eight French-speaking sub-Saharan African countries studied has changed little since the last survey.
Regular Internet users (at least once a week) now account for 54% of the population, with significant variations from one country to another: they represent 75% in Senegal, while remaining around or below 50% in many other countries, with the exception of Mali (64%) and Côte d'Ivoire (57%).
The "internet user" indicator provides a more accurate picture of internet penetration in a country (in this case, its capital city, given the data collection method used in the Africascope study) and shows Senegal's lead in terms of both the percentage of the population who used the Internet the previous day (internet users the previous day) and DEI (duration of use per individual).
Internet users monitor DEI
SENEGAL: 70% 02:12
MALI: 58% 01:06
IVORY COAST 51% 01:44
BURKINA FASO 49% 01:13
GABON 44% 01:27
DRC 41% 01:43
CAMEROON: 41% 01:43
CONGO 30% 00:55
Average for 8 countries 48% 01:40
Source: Africascope – September 2022–June 2023
WhatsApp remains the most widely used social network ahead of Facebook in all countries except the DRC and Gabon, where Facebook holds its own and remains at a higher level than WhatsApp.
Behind these two leaders, TikTok continues to grow: 42% of internet users now have a TikTok account (average across the eight countries). This figure rises to 72% in Senegal, 64% in Mali, and 46% in Ivory Coast, which are the three countries where TikTok is most established.