Africa, the second largest continent on earth after Asia, with an estimated human population of 1,013,779,050 in 2010; has a total of 110,948,420 Internet users in as at 31/10, a 10.9% penetration rate. Interestingly, 17,607,440 of these approximately 111 million African Internet users are Facebook users as at August 31/10, a 1.7% penetration rate.
As can be seen from the table below, statistics can be quite revealing, depending on how you want to look at the data.
As can be seen from the table above, the top 3 countries in Africa in terms of Internet penetration are Seychelles (38.40%), Reunion (36.50%) and Tunisia (34.50%). The African countries with the least Internet penetration are Ethiopia (0.50%), Liberia (o.50%) and Siera Leone (0.30%); countries that have just emerged from a history of long civil war. Looking at member countries that comprise the East African Community in terms of Facebook usage are Kenya-864,760 Facebook users (2.2% penetration rate), Tanzania -141,580 Facebook users (0.3% penetration rate), Uganda-196,000 Facebook users ( 0.6% penetration rate), Rwanda-52,520 Facebook users (0.5% penetration rate) and Burundi-6,740 Facebook users (0.1% penetration rate).
Source: Internet World Stats
As can be seen from the table below, statistics can be quite revealing, depending on how you want to look at the data.
| Country | Population (2010 est.) | Internet Users (Dec/2000) | Internet Users (Aug/2010) | Penetration (% of Population) | User Growth (2000-2010) | % Users in Africa |
| Western Sahara | 491,519 | --- | --- | --- | --- | 0.00% |
| Mayotte (FR) | 231,139 | --- | --- | --- | --- | 0.00% |
| Seychelles | 88,340 | 6,000 | 33,900 | 38.40% | 465.00% | 0.00% |
| Reunion (FR) | 822,986 | 130,000 | 300,000 | 36.50% | 130.80% | 0.30% |
| Tunisia | 10,589,025 | 100,000 | 3,600,000 | 34.00% | 3500.00% | 3.20% |
| Morocco | 31,627,428 | 100,000 | 10,442,500 | 33.00% | 10342.50% | 9.40% |
| Cape Verde | 508,659 | 8,000 | 150,000 | 29.50% | 1775.00% | 0.10% |
| Nigeria | 152,217,341 | 200,000 | 43,982,200 | 28.90% | 21891.10% | 39.60% |
| Mauritius | 1,294,104 | 87,000 | 290,000 | 22.40% | 233.30% | 0.30% |
| Egypt | 80,471,869 | 450,000 | 17,060,000 | 21.20% | 3691.10% | 15.40% |
| Sao Tome & Principe | 175,808 | 6,500 | 26,700 | 15.20% | 310.80% | 0.00% |
| Algeria | 34,586,184 | 50,000 | 4,700,000 | 13.60% | 9300.00% | 4.30% |
| Zimbabwe | 11,651,858 | 50,000 | 1,422,000 | 12.20% | 2744.00% | 1.30% |
| South Africa | 49,109,107 | 2,400,000 | 5,300,000 | 10.80% | 120.80% | 4.80% |
| Saint Helena (UK) | 7,670 | n/a | 800 | 10.40% | n/a | 0.00% |
| Kenya | 40,046,566 | 200,000 | 3,995,500 | 10.00% | 1897.80% | 3.60% |
| Sudan | 41,980,182 | 30,000 | 4,200,000 | 10.00% | 13900.00% | 3.80% |
| Uganda | 33,398,682 | 40,000 | 3,200,000 | 9.60% | 7900.00% | 2.90% |
| Gambia | 1,824,158 | 4,000 | 130,100 | 7.10% | 3152.50% | 0.10% |
| Zambia | 12,056,923 | 20,000 | 816,700 | 6.80% | 3983.50% | 0.70% |
| Senegal | 14,086,103 | 40,000 | 923,000 | 6.60% | 2207.50% | 0.80% |
| Swaziland | 1,354,051 | 10,000 | 90,000 | 6.60% | 800.00% | 0.10% |
| Gabon | 1,545,255 | 15,000 | 98,800 | 6.40% | 558.70% | 0.10% |
| Namibia | 2,128,471 | 30,000 | 127,500 | 6.00% | 325.00% | 0.10% |
| Botswana | 2,029,307 | 15,000 | 120,000 | 5.90% | 700.00% | 0.10% |
| Congo | 4,125,916 | 500 | 245,200 | 5.90% | 48940.00% | 0.20% |
| Togo | 6,199,841 | 100,000 | 356,300 | 5.70% | 256.30% | 0.30% |
| Libya | 6,461,454 | 10,000 | 353,900 | 5.50% | 3439.00% | 0.30% |
| Ghana | 24,339,838 | 30,000 | 1,297,000 | 5.30% | 4223.30% | 1.20% |
| Angola | 13,068,161 | 30,000 | 607,400 | 4.60% | 1924.70% | 0.50% |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 21,058,798 | 40,000 | 968,000 | 4.60% | 2320.00% | 0.90% |
| Malawi | 15,447,500 | 15,000 | 716,400 | 4.60% | 4676.00% | 0.60% |
| Eritrea | 5,792,984 | 5,000 | 250,000 | 4.30% | 4900.00% | 0.20% |
| Rwanda | 11,055,976 | 5,000 | 450,000 | 4.10% | 8900.00% | 0.40% |
| Lesotho | 1,919,552 | 4,000 | 76,800 | 4.00% | 1820.00% | 0.10% |
| Cameroon | 19,294,149 | 20,000 | 750,000 | 3.90% | 3650.00% | 0.70% |
| Djibouti | 740,528 | 1,400 | 25,900 | 3.50% | 1750.00% | 0.00% |
| Comoros | 773,407 | 1,500 | 24,300 | 3.10% | 1520.00% | 0.00% |
| Mozambique | 22,061,451 | 30,000 | 612,500 | 2.80% | 1941.70% | 0.60% |
| Guinea-Bissau | 1,565,126 | 1,500 | 37,100 | 2.40% | 2373.30% | 0.00% |
| Mauritania | 3,205,060 | 5,000 | 75,000 | 2.30% | 1400.00% | 0.10% |
| Benin | 9,056,010 | 15,000 | 200,000 | 2.20% | 1233.30% | 0.20% |
| Equatorial Guinea | 650,702 | 500 | 14,400 | 2.20% | 2780.00% | 0.00% |
| Chad | 10,543,464 | 1,000 | 187,800 | 1.80% | 18680.00% | 0.20% |
| Mali | 13,796,354 | 18,800 | 250,000 | 1.80% | 1229.80% | 0.20% |
| Tanzania | 41,892,895 | 115,000 | 676,000 | 1.60% | 487.80% | 0.60% |
| Madagascar | 21,281,844 | 30,000 | 320,000 | 1.50% | 966.70% | 0.30% |
| Burkina Faso | 16,241,811 | 10,000 | 178,200 | 1.10% | 1682.00% | 0.20% |
| Somalia | 10,112,453 | 200 | 106,000 | 1.00% | 52900.00% | 0.10% |
| Guinea | 10,324,025 | 8,000 | 95,000 | 0.90% | 1087.50% | 0.10% |
| Burundi | 9,863,117 | 3,000 | 65,000 | 0.70% | 2066.70% | 0.10% |
| Niger | 15,878,271 | 5,000 | 115,900 | 0.70% | 2218.00% | 0.10% |
| Central African Rep. | 4,844,927 | 1,500 | 22,600 | 0.50% | 1406.70% | 0.00% |
| Congo, Dem. Rep. | 70,916,439 | 500 | 365,000 | 0.50% | 72900.00% | 0.30% |
| Ethiopia | 88,013,491 | 10,000 | 445,400 | 0.50% | 4354.00% | 0.40% |
| Liberia | 3,685,076 | 500 | 20,000 | 0.50% | 3900.00% | 0.00% |
| Sierra Leone | 5,245,695 | 5,000 | 14,900 | 0.30% | 198.00% | 0.00% |
| TOTAL AFRICA | 1,013,779,050 | 4,514,400 | 110,931,700 | 10.90% | 2357.30% | 100.00% |
As can be seen from the table above, the top 3 countries in Africa in terms of Internet penetration are Seychelles (38.40%), Reunion (36.50%) and Tunisia (34.50%). The African countries with the least Internet penetration are Ethiopia (0.50%), Liberia (o.50%) and Siera Leone (0.30%); countries that have just emerged from a history of long civil war. Looking at member countries that comprise the East African Community in terms of Facebook usage are Kenya-864,760 Facebook users (2.2% penetration rate), Tanzania -141,580 Facebook users (0.3% penetration rate), Uganda-196,000 Facebook users ( 0.6% penetration rate), Rwanda-52,520 Facebook users (0.5% penetration rate) and Burundi-6,740 Facebook users (0.1% penetration rate).
Source: Internet World Stats
