The East African region had 62.46 million internet users by the end of 2017, a latest report has revealed.
The report, “Digital in 2017: A study of Internet, Social Media and Mobile throughout the Eastern Africa Region,” covered the 6 East African Community countries namely; Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi.
According to the findings, Burundi had the least number of internet users in the region at 0.57 million, representing just 5% of its total population.
It was followed by South Sudan with 2.32 million internet users, representing 18% of its overall population.
Rwanda’s 3.22 million users represent 27% of its population, while Tanzania had 7.59 million, indicating a 14% internet penetration.
With 16.77 million internet users, representing a 41% internet penetration, Uganda is the second biggest internet user in the region.
Kenya, the region’s biggest economy, almost doubles Uganda’s Internet usage. It has 31.99 million internet users, presenting a 67% penetration.
The growth in internet usage across the East African region comes at the back of increased investment in internet access. Telecoms together with sitting governments have prioritized spend on internet infrastructure and also availing cheap internet enabled devices.
In Uganda for example, a starter internet enabled device can now be got for as low as Shs60,000.