GSMA：2024年移動(dòng)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)連接報(bào)告 The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2024

TheStateof

MobileInternetConnectivity

Copyright?2024GSMA

2024

TheGSMAisaglobalorganisationunifyingthe

mobileecosystemtodiscover,developanddeliverinnovationfoundationaltopositivebusiness

environmentsandsocietalchange.Ourvisionis

tounlockthefullpowerofconnectivitysothat

people,industryandsocietythrive.Representingmobileoperatorsandorganisationsacrossthe

mobileecosystemandadjacentindustries,the

GSMAdeliversforitsmembersacrossthreebroadpillars:ConnectivityforGood,IndustryServices

andSolutions,andOutreach.Thisactivityincludesadvancingpolicy,tacklingtoday’sbiggestsocietalchallenges,underpinningthetechnologyand

interoperabilitythatmakemobilework,and

providingtheworld’slargestplatformtoconvenethemobileecosystemattheMWCandM360

seriesofevents.

Weinviteyoutofindoutmoreat

FollowtheGSMAonX:

@GSMA

Intelligence

GSMAIntelligenceisthedefinitivesourceofglobalmobileoperatordata,analysisandforecasts,andpublisherofauthoritativeindustryreportsand

research.Ourdatacoverseveryoperatorgroup,networkandMVNOineverycountryworldwide–fromAfghanistantoZimbabwe.Itisthemost

accurateandcompletesetofindustrymetrics

available,comprisingtensofmillionsofindividualdatapoints,updateddaily.

GSMAIntelligenceisreliedonbyleading

operators,vendors,regulators,financial

institutionsandthird-partyindustryplayers,tosupportstrategicdecision-makingandlong-

terminvestmentplanning.Thedataisusedasanindustryreferencepointandisfrequentlycitedbythemediaandbytheindustryitself.

GSMAConnectedSociety

TheConnectedSocietyprogrammeworkswith

themobileindustry,technologycompanies,the

developmentcommunityandgovernmentsto

increaseaccesstoandadoptionofmobileinternet,focusingonunderservedpopulationgroupsin

developingmarkets.

Formoreinformation,pleasevisit

/connected-society

TogetintouchwiththeConnectedSocietyteam,pleaseemail

connectedsociety@

ThismaterialhasbeenfundedbyUKAidfromtheUKGovernment;however,theviewsexpressed

donotnecessarilyreflecttheUKGovernment’sofficialpolicies.

ukaid

frmtheBritishpeople

ThisdocumenthasbeenfinancedbytheSwedishInternationalDevelopmentCooperationAgency,Sida.Sidadoesnotnecessarilysharetheviews

expressedinthismaterial.Responsibilityforitscontentsrestsentirelywiththeauthors.

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sverige

Ourteamofanalystsandexpertsproduceregularthought-leadingresearchreportsacrossarangeofindustrytopics.

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Authors:MatthewShanahan,KalvinBahia

Contributors:AbiGleek,MelleTielGroenestege,ClaireSibthorpe,AnneShannonBaxter,EleanorSarpong,HarryFernandoAquijeBallon,Anna-NoémieOuattaraBoni

Published:October2024

Contents

Keyfindings

4

Introduction

7

1.Trendsinmobileinternetconnectivity

9

2.Networkcoverageandinfrastructure

29

3.Howpeopleareusingmobileinternet

40

4.Keybarrierstomobileinternetadoptionanduse

46

5.Conclusionandrecommendations

72

Appendix1:TheGSMAConsumerSurvey

76

Appendix2:Economicimpactofclosingthe

genderandusagegaps

81

Appendix3:Methodologyformeasuringhandset

anddataaffordability

84

Appendix4:Additionalfigures86

Appendix5:Glossary90

THESTATEOFMOBILEINTERNETCONNECTIVITY2024

Keyfindings

1.Mobileinternetadoptioncontinuesto

increase,with57%oftheworld'spopulation(4.6billionpeople)nowusingmobile

internetontheirowndevice.However,thegrowthrateatwhichpeopleareadoptingmobileinternetremainedflatin2023.

Around160millionpeoplestartedusing

mobileinternetin2023,whichissimilartothegrowthin2022butrepresentsaslowdown

comparedto2015–2021,whenmorethan

200millionpeoplebecameconnectedeachyear.Morethan90%ofthegrowthin2023

camefromlow-andmiddle-incomecountries(LMICs),where95%oftheunconnected

populationlives.

2.Withthevastmajorityoftheworld’s

populationlivingwithinthefootprint

ofamobilebroadbandnetwork,mobile

broadbandcoverageonlyincreased

marginally.Oftheglobalpopulation,96%isnowcoveredbymobilebroadband,withtheremainingthehardesttoreach.Thoselivinginareaswithoutmobilebroadband

coverage–thecoveragegap–totalaround350millionpeople(4%oftheworld’s

population).Thecoveragegapismore

pronouncedinsomecountries,with31

countriesstillhavingacoveragegaplargerthan10%ofthepopulation.Uncovered

communitiesarepredominantlyrural,poorandsparselypopulated.Theyaretypicallyinaleastdevelopedcountry(LDC),landlockeddevelopingcountry(LLDC)orsmallisland

developingstate(SIDS).

3.Almost90%ofthosenotusingmobile

internetliveinareascoveredbymobilebroadband.Therewere3.1billionpeople

(39%oftheglobalpopulation)livingin

areascoveredbymobileinternetbutnotusingitbytheendof2023.Withmobileinternetadoptionoutpacingnetwork

expansion,thisusagegaphascontinuedtoshrink.However,theusagegapisnowninetimesthesizeofthecoveragegap.Two

thirdsofthosewhoarenotusingmobile

internetdespitelivinginareaswherethereisbroadbandcoveragedonotyetownamobilephoneofanytype.

4.Connectivityvariessignificantlybyand

withinregionsandcountries,with95%of

thosenotusingmobileinternetlivingin

LMICs.Asinpreviousyears,Sub-Saharan

Africaremainstheregionwiththelargest

coverageandusagegaps.InLMICs,adultsinruralareasare28%lesslikelythanthoselivinginurbanareastousemobileinternet,and

womenare15%lesslikelythanmentouse

mobileinternet.AmongLMICs,connectivitytendstobesignificantlylowerinLDCs,LLDCsandSIDS.

5.Thenumberofpeopleusingtheirown

smartphonetoaccesstheinternetincreasedtoalmost4.3billionpeoplebytheendof

2023(53%oftheglobalpopulation).Almost80%ofmobileinternetsubscribersglobally

arenowaccessingtheinternetona4Gor5G

smartphone–anincreaseof330millionpeoplebetween2022and2023.Whilethisrepresentsasignificantincrease,oneinfivemobile

internetsubscribersworldwidearestillusing

a3Gsmartphoneorfeaturephonetoaccess

theinternet.ThisreachesmorethanathirdinLatinAmerica&theCaribbeanandMENA,andalmosttwothirdsinSub-SaharanAfrica.

4

KEYFINDINGS

6.Afurther730millionindividualsused

mobileinternetin2023onadevicetheydonotownorhaveprimaryuseof.This

comprises440millionadultsand290

millionchildrenunder18yearsold.While

accessonasharedorotherperson’sdevicerepresentsanimportantmodeofaccessformanychildren,itismorelimitingforadults;theyareunabletorealisethefullbenefitsofmobileinternetiftheyonlyhavetemporary,sharedorintermittentaccess.

7.4Gisapproaching3Glevelsofcoverage,butthemajorityofnetworkinvestment

continuestobein5Gdeployment.Attheendof2023,thenumberof5Gconnectionsworldwideexceeded1.5billion.However,

morethan100countrieshavenotlaunched5Gnetworksyet,withmorethan80%of

theseLMICs.

8.NetworkqualityanddataconsumptioninLMICshaveseenthelargestincreasesto

date,butsignificantgapspersistversus

high-incomeregions.Withmoreconsumersmigratingto4Gand5G,averagedatatrafficperusercontinuestoincrease,reaching

almost13GBperconnectionin2023.Global

averagedownloadspeedshavealsoincreased

–from34to48Mbps.Whileaverage

downloadspeedsinhigh-incomecountries

reachedalmost100Mbps,theyremainbelow20MbpsinLDCs,LLDCsandSIDS.

9.Mobileinternetawarenesscontinues

togrowbutinmanycasesremainsa

significantbarriertomobileinternet

adoption.In2023,morethan80%ofthe

populationinsevenofthe12surveyed

countrieswereawareofmobileinternet.

However,thisstillmeansthatinfiveofthesurveycountries,20–50%ofthepopulationhasstillnotheardofmobileinternet.

Womenandthoselivinginruralareasalsoremainlesslikelytobeaware.

10.Forthosealreadyawareofmobileinternet,thetop-reportedbarrierstoadoption

areaffordability(primarilyofhandsets)andliteracy&digitalskills.Affordability(particularlyofinternet-enabledhandsets)remainsthegreatestbarriertomobile

internetadoptionacrossthecountries

surveyed,especiallyinSub-SaharanAfrica.Lackofliteracyanddigitalskillsranked

secondoverallacrossthecountriessurveyedandisthetopbarriertomobileinternet

adoptionacrossAsiancountries.Safetyandsecurityconcernsandlackofperceived

relevancewerereportedlessoftenbutarealsoimportantbarriers.

11.Whilemostmobileinternetusersuseit

everyday,usageisoftenlimitedtoonly

oneortwoactivities,andmanysaythey

wanttouseitmore.Communications,

socialmediaandentertainmentremainthemostpopularactivities.However,useof

otheractivitiesislowerandismuchmore

variedacrosscountries.Acrossthesurvey

countries,anaverageof43%ofmobile

internetusersreportedwantingtouseit

more.Thetopbarrierstofurtherusevarybycountry,butcommonlyreportedbarriersaresafetyandsecurityconcerns,affordability

(particularlyofdatabutalsohandsets)andtheconnectivityexperience.

12.Affordabilityofanentry-level,internet-

enabledhandsetremainedrelatively

unchanged,whileaffordabilityofdata

continuestoimproveinLMICsacrossmostregions.However,affordabilityofdevicesanddatacontinuestodisproportionatelyaffecttheunderserved.AcrossLMICs,

theaffordabilityofanentry-levelhandsetis18%ofaveragemonthlyincomeoverall.However,itisequivalentto39%ofaveragemonthlyincomeforthepoorest40%,and51%forthepoorest20%.InSub-Saharan

Africa,whichaccountsforaquarteroftheunconnectedpopulationworldwide,an

entry-leveldevicecosts99%ofaverage

monthlyincomeforthepoorest20%.ForwomeninLMICs,thecostofanentry-level,internet-enabledhandsetis24%ofmonthlyincome,comparedto12%formen.

13.Closingtheusagegapisestimatedtoadd$3.5trillionintotaladditionalGDPduring2023–2030.Morethan90%ofthisbenefit($3.2trillion)wouldaccruetoLMICs,giventheyaccountforthevastmajorityofthe

unconnected.Justover$1.3trillionintotaladditionalGDPovertheperiodwouldcomefromclosingthegendergapinmobile

internetadoptionacrossLMICs.

5

THESTATEOFMOBILEINTERNETCONNECTIVITY2024

KEYFINDINGS

CONNECTED:

57%

oftheworld’s

population

arenowusingmobileinternet

4.6

Buttherateatwhichpeoplewereadoptingmobileinternetremained

FLAT

in2023

COVERAGEGAP:

4%

oftheworld's

populationarestillnotcoveredby

mobilebroadband

AROUND350mPEOPLE

USAGEGAP:

39%

.

oftheworld’spopulationlivewithinthefootprint

ofamobilebroadband

networkbutarenotusingit

2/3

OFWHICH

DONOTOWNAPHONE

KEYFINDINGS

INLOW-ANDMIDDLE-INCOMECOUNTRIES

Thetop

barriersto

mobileinternetadoptionare:

Affordability,particularlyofhandsets

Alackofliteracyanddigitalskills

Thetop

barrierstofurtheruseofmobile

internetare:

SafetyandAffordabilityConnectivity

securityexperience

ClosingtheUSAGEGAPisestimatedtoadd

$3.5trillion

intotaladditionalGDPduring2023–2030

Morethan

90%ofthis($3.2trillion)

wouldaccruetoLMICs

Justover$1.3trillionwouldcomefrom

closingthegender

gapinmobileinternetadoptioninLMICs

6

THESTATEOFMOBILEINTERNETCONNECTIVITY2024

7

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Whymobileconnectivitymatters

Morepeoplethaneverbeforearenowaccessingtheinternetthroughmobiledevices.Bytheendof2023,thenumberofpeopleusingmobile

internetincreasedto4.6billionpeople(57%oftheglobalpopulation).Mobileistheprimary

–insomecases,only–waymostaccessthe

internetinlow-andmiddle-incomecountries

(LMICs).Mobileaccountedfor84%ofbroadbandconnectionsin2023.1

However,therateofgrowthinmobileinternet

adoptionhasremainedflat,andsignificantdigitaldividespersist.Thosewhoaredigitallyexcludedaremorelikelytobepoorer,lesseducated,ruralandwomen–groupsthatstandtogainthemostfromconnectivity.Withoutrenewedeffortsto

closethedigitaldivide,theunderservedareatriskofbeingleftbehindinanincreasinglydigitalworld.

Addressingthedigitaldivideprovidessignificantsocioeconomicbenefitsandhasneverbeen

moreimportant.Mobileinternetisconnecting

morepeoplethaneverbeforetocriticalservicessuchashealthcare,education,e-commerce

andfinancialservices,andprovidingincome-

generatingopportunities.Yetthebenefitsof

connectivityarenotbeingrealisedequally.

Some39%oftheglobalpopulationareliving

withinmobilebroadbandcoveragebutarenotusingit,while4%arestillnotcoveredbymobilebroadband.

Aboutthisreport

TheStateofMobileInternetConnectivity2024

drawsonarangeofdatatoanalysekeytrends

since2015.Thereportconsiderstheimportanceofnotjustmobilebroadbandcoveragebut

‘meaningfulconnectivity’–usershavingasafe,

satisfying,enrichingandproductiveonline

experiencethatisaffordableintheircontext.2

Thisrequiresanunderstandingofthekeybarriersandenablersformeaningfulconnectivity,

includingaccess,affordability,skills,safetyandsecurity,andrelevantcontentandservices.Eachoftheseisconsideredinthisreport.

Thisanalysispresentsthelatestupdateson

mobileinternetconnectivitygloballyandby

region,highlightingthesizeofthecoverage

andusagegaps,includingafocusonLMICs

(Chapter1).Forthefirsttime,italsopresents

analysisofconnectivityamongchildrenandtheeconomicimpactofclosingtheusagegap.Thereportthenexploresmobilebroadbandcoverageandinfrastructure(Chapter2).Chapters3and

4provideinsightsintohowadultsinLMICsare

usingmobileinternetandthebarrierstomobileinternetadoption,aswellasnewanalysisonthebarrierstofurtheruse.Chapter5outlinesthekeychallengestoaddresstoensureeveryonecan

connecttotheinternet.

Thefindingsofthisreportarebasedonthe

GSMAConsumerSurvey,theGSMAMobile

ConnectivityIndex3(MCI)andarangeofotherindustryreports.TheGSMAConsumerSurveyisaface-to-face,nationallyrepresentative

surveycarriedouteachyearsince2017to

understandaccessto–anduseof–mobileandmobileinternetinLMICs.In2023,itincluded

morethan13,600respondentsfrom12LMICs.4TheMCImeasuresthekeyenablersofmobileinternetconnectivityacross173countries

(representing99%oftheglobalpopulation)

against32indicatorsfortheperiod2014–

2023.Theindicatorsaregroupedintofour

overarchingenablers:infrastructure,affordability,consumerreadiness,andcontentandservices.

Together,thesedatasourcesprovideobjective,quantitativemetricstotrackthekeyenablersofmobileinternetadoptionandusage,aswellas

insightsintowhatconsumersusemobileinternetfororwhatpreventsthemfromusingit.5

1.InternationalTelecommunicationUnion(ITU)estimatesfor2023.

2.

AchievinguniversalandmeaningfuldigitalconnectivitySettingabaselineandtargetsfor2030

.UnitedNationsSecretary-General’sRoadmapforDigitalCooperationandITU,2021

3.Thewebtoolisavailableat

4.Bangladesh,Egypt,Ethiopia,Guatemala,India,Indonesia,Kenya,Mexico,Nigeria,Pakistan,SenegalandUganda.

5.ForfurtherdetailsonthemethodologyoftheMCI,see

MobileConnectivityIndexMethodology

.ForfurtherdetailsonthemethodologyoftheGSMAConsumerSurvey,seeAppendix1.

8

THESTATEOFMOBILEINTERNETCONNECTIVITY2024

1.Trendsinmobile

internetconnectivity

Whilemorepeoplethaneverbeforeareconnectingto

theinternetviamobile,therateofgrowthhasremained

flat.In2023,anadditional160millionpeoplestartedusingmobileinternetontheirdevice,similartotheincrease

seenin2022butfallingshortoftheannualgrowth

observedduring2015–2021.Thecoveragegapreduced

byamarginal1percentagepoint,with96%oftheglobal

populationnowlivingwithinthefootprintofamobile

broadbandnetwork.Mostofthosenotusingmobile

internetliveinareaswithmobilebroadbandcoverage

butfaceotherbarrierstoadoption.Thereremain3.1billionpeople(39%oftheglobalpopulation)whoarenotusingmobileinternetbutarecoveredbymobilebroadband.

Closingthissignificantusagegapisestimatedtoaddacumulative$3.5trilliontoglobalGDPby2030.

MORETHAN

90%

ofthegrowthinmobileinternetadoptionin2023camefrom

WHERE

LMICs

95%

OFTHE

UNCONNECTED

POPULATIONLIVE

9

1.TRENDSINMOBILEINTERNETCONNECTIVITY

Attheendof2023,approximately57%ofthe

globalpopulation(4.6billionpeople)wereusingmobileinternetontheirowndevice–upfrom

33%in2015(seeFigure1).6Thisrepresentsan

increaseof160millionpeopleovertheyear,

whichissimilartothegrowthin2022but

representsaslowdowningrowthcomparedto2015–2021,whenmorethan200millionpeoplebecameconnectedeachyear.Morethan90%ofthegrowthin2023camefromlow-andmiddle-incomecountries(LMICs),where95%ofthe

unconnectedpopulationlives.

Thepercentageoftheglobalpopulationlivinginareaswithoutmobilebroadbandcoverage

stoodat4%bytheendof2023.Thisrepresents

amarginalreductiononpreviousyearsandmeansaround350millionpeoplearestill

notcoveredbyamobilebroadbandnetwork

(comparedtoalmost400millioninrecentyears).Theremaininguncoveredcommunities,which

arepredominantlyrural,poorandsparsely

populated,arethemostchallengingtoreach.

Ofthe3.45billionpeoplewhoremain

unconnectedtomobileinternet,90%liveinan

areaalreadycoveredbymobilebroadbandbut

arenotusingmobileinternet.Withmobileinternetadoptionoutpacingnetworkexpansion,thisusagegaphascontinuedtoshrink,standingat39%by

theendof2023.However,theusagegapisnowninetimesthesizeofthecoveragegap.

Figure1

Globalmobileinternetconnectivity,2015–2023

8%

7%

5%

5%

6%

4%

15%1.10bn

48%3.59bn

38%2.86bn

0.54bn

44%3.44bn

49%3.81bn

11%0.86bn

46%3.49bn

43%3.29bn

0.47bn

42%3.30bn

52%4.07bn

0.65bn

45%3.50bn

46%3.56bn

0.43bn

41%3.22bn

54%4.28bn

0.38bn

40%3.17bn

56%4.45bn

0.35bn

39%3.11bn

57%4.61bn

19%1.38bn

49%3.63bn

33%2.45bn

2016

2021

2017

2018

2022

2019

2015

2023

2020

MobileinternetsubscribersuUsagegapuCoveragegap

Base:Totalpopulation,197countries

Note:Totalsmaynotaddupduetorounding.Everyyear,GSMAIntelligenceupdatesitsestimatesofthenumberofmobileinternetsubscribersineachcountry,incorporatingnew(and/orupdated)datafromoperators,regulators,nationalstatisticsagenciesandconsumersurveyswhereavailable.Insomecountriesandregions,estimatesofmobileinternetadoptionmaythereforedifferfromwhatwaspresentedinpreviouseditionsofTheStateofMobileInternetConnectivity.

Source:UniquesubscriberdataissourcedfromGSMAIntelligence.CoveragedataissourcedfromGSMAIntelligence,combiningdatareportedbymobileoperatorsandnationalregulatoryauthorities.PopulationdataissourcedfromtheUN.

Toachievemeaningfulconnectivity,itiscriticaltolookbeyondmeremobileinternetadoptiontotheextentitisusedforadiversesetofusecases

onaregularbasis.7WecoverregularanddiverseuseofmobileinternetinChapter4.

6.Eachyear,GSMAIntelligenceincorporatesnewandupdateddatafromoperators,regulators,nationalstatisticsagenciesandconsumersurveyswhereavailable.Thisappliestohistoricaldatabefore2023.Estimatesofmobileinternetadoptionduring2015–2022canthereforediffertowhatwaspresentedinpreviouseditionsofTheStateofMobileInternetConnectivity.

7.Inthisreport,regularmobileinternetuseisdefinedasusingitdaily,anddiversemobileinternetuseisdefinedasperformingatleastthreemobileinternetusecasesdaily.

5SNMA

10

THESTATEOFMOBILEINTERNETCONNECTIVITY2024

Therearetwowayspeoplecanbe‘unconnected’;eithertheyliveinanareanotcoveredbymobilebroadband,ortheyliveinanareathatiscoveredbuttheydonotusemobileinternet.

CONNECTED

UNCONNECTED

Thosewhousemobileinternet.

Coveragegap:

Thosewholiveinanarea

notcoveredbyamobile

broadbandnetwork.

Usagegap:

Thosewholivewithinthe

footprintofamobilebroadband

networkbutdonotusemobile

internetservices.

Twocategoriesofmobileinternetusageareconsideredinthisyear’sreport:

Mobileinternetsubscribers:Individualswhousemobileinternetonadevicetheyownorhaveprimaryuseof.

InpreviouseditionsoftheStateofMobileInternetConnectivityReport,

connectedreferredtothenumberofuniqueusersthathaveusedinternetservicesonamobiledevicethattheyownorhaveprimaryuseofattheendoftheyear.

Theestimatesarebasedondatasourcedfrommobileoperators,regulators,

nationalstatisticsagenciesandconsumersurveys.Weretainthedefinitioninthisreport,particularlytoassesstrendsinconnectivityovertime,andrefertothis

groupas“mobileinternetsubscribers”.

Additionalmobileinternetusers:Individualswhousemobileinternetonadevicetheydonotownorhaveprimaryuseof.

Animportantomissionfromthedefinitionof“mobileinternetsubscribers”isthatitdoesnotincludeindividualswhousemobileinternetbutdonothavetheirowndevice.Thisappliestoadultsbutisespeciallyrelevantforchildrenundertheageof18yearsold,whoaccountfor30%oftheglobalpopulation.Inthisyear’sreport,forthefirsttime,weestimatethenumberofpeoplewhousemobileinternetbutnotontheirowndevice.Thisiseitheronashareddeviceoradevicethatbelongstosomeoneelse.Werefertothisgroupas“additionalmobileinternetusers”.TheestimatesareprimarilybasedondatagatheredintheGSMAConsumerSurveyaswellasotherthird-partydatawhereavailable.Thedataispresentedfor2023andwillbeupdatedinsubsequentyears.Itispossiblethattheestimateofadditionalmobileinternetuserspotentiallyincludesindividualswhousetheinternetbutnotonamobiledevice,thoughweexpectsuchasegmenttobesmallinproportiontothetotalnumberofmobileinternetusers.8

MOBILEINTERNET

Inpreviousreports,“mobileinternet”wasdefinedasanyactivitythatconsumesmobiledata(i.e.excludingSMS,MMSandcellularvoicecalls).Inthisyear’sreport,ourdefinitionof

“connected”nowonlyincludesmobileinternetsubscribersanduserswhoconnectvia3G,4Gor5Gtechnologies.Thisisconsistentwithourdefinitionofthecoveragegap(whichonly

considersmobilebroadband)andalsoreflectsthefactthat2Gdoesnotallowuserstohavethesameinternetexperienceandserviceasmobilebroadband.Thischangehasbeenmadetoboth2023andhistoricaldata,sotrendsarecomparableovertime.

8.Acrossthesurveyedcountries,onaverage,only2%ofrespondentswhohadusedtheinternetinthelastthreemonthsdidsosolelyondevicesotherthanamobile.

11

1.TRENDSINMOBILEINTERNETCONNECTIVITY

Connectivityvaries

substantiallybetweenandwithinregions

Mostregionssawasimilarlevelofgrowthof

mobileinternetsubscribersin2023astheir

respectivegrowthin2022.Thereweretwo

exceptions.InEastAsia&Pacific,thenumberofadditionalmobileinternetsubscribersincreasedfrom40millionto50million,whileinSouthAsiathenumberslowedfrom60millionto50million.9

GLOBAL

Figure2

Regionalbreakdownoftheconnectivity,usagegapandcoveragegapestimatesasoftheendof2023

4%

350m

Coveragegap

MiddleEast&NorthAfrica

NorthAmerica

Europe&CentralAsia

39%

Usagegap

1%

5m

4%

20m

1%

10m

3.11bn

57%

Connected

4.61bn

19%

70m

47%

310m

24%

200m

49%

330m

75%

630m

80%

300m

管。

t

Sub-SaharanAfrica

EastAsia&Pacific

SouthAsia

LatinAmerica&Caribbean

6%

40m

4%

80m

1%

30m

13%

160m

60%

710m

33%

220m

27%

640m

50%

970m

61%

410m

27%

320m

72%

1.72bn

46%

900m

Base:Totalpopulation,197countries

Note:Totalsmaynotaddupto100%duetorounding.Everyyear,GSMAIntelligenceupdatesitsestimatesofthenumberofmobileinternetsubscribersineach

country,incorporatingnew(and/orupdated)datafromoperators,regulators,nationalstatisticsagenciesandconsumersurveyswhereavailable.Insomecountriesandregions,estimatesofmobileinternetadoptionmaythereforedifferfromwhatwaspresentedinpreviouseditionsofTheStateofMobileInternetConnectivity.

Source:GSMAIntelligence

9.Inotherregions,thegrowthininternetsubscribersin2023was5millioninEurope&CentralAsia,15millioninLatinAmerica&Caribbean,15millioninMENA,

12

3millioninNorthAmericaand25millioninSub-SaharanAfrica.Theseweresimilartotheincreaseinmobileinternetsubscribersin2022.

5SNMA

THESTATEOFMOBILEINTERNETCONNECTIVITY2024

EastAsia&PacifichasthethirdhighestlevelsofconnectivityafterNorthAmericaandEurope&

CentralAsia,with72%oftheregion’spopulationusingmobileinternet(seeFigure3).However,

thiscontinuestomasksignificantvariationwithintheregion.Inhigh-incomecountries(HICs),

includingJapan,SouthKoreaandAustralia,84%ofthepopulationusedmobileinternetasoftheendof2023,comparedto71%forLMICsinthe

region.IfChinaisexcluded,justoverhalfthe

populationinLMICsintheregionusedmobile

internet.InthePacificIslands,mobileinternet

adoptionismuchlower(28%),withmorethan

oneinsixpeopleremaininguncovered;ithasa

largercoveragegapthaninSub-SaharanAfrica.10

Sub-SaharanAfricaremainstheregionwiththelowestconnectivitylevelsandlargestcoveragegap.ConnectivityishighestinSouthernand

WesternAfricaataround30%,andlowestin

CentralAfricaat19%.CentralAfric