In January 2022, there were 1.33 million internet users in Namibia, while the country’s internet penetration rate was 51 per cent of the total population.
According to Kepios data, internet users in Namibia increased by 24 000 (+1.8 per cent) between 2021 and 2022.
These user figures show that 1.28 million Namibians did not use the internet at the beginning of 2022, implying that 49 per cent of the population was offline at the start of the year.
However, because COVID-19 issues continue to influence internet adoption research, actual internet user figures may be higher than these published figures suggest.
Besides the cost factor influencing the average mobile phone user’s ability to obtain a smart phone, the costs of data also affects people’s ability to access the internet even if they do own a smart phone.
In 2022, one gigabyte (GB) of mobile internet data in Namibia costs on average US.dollars $10.52 (about N.dollars 174.60).
The lowest price observed among 31 data plans measured in the country was $1.36 US dollars per 1GB for 30 days, while 1GB costs 27.03 USD in the most expensive plan.
Business news provider Business Insider Africa recently published a list of the 20 African countries with the highest average mobile data prices.
Namibia made the list, coming in at number five.
Equatorial Guinea currently has the most expensive mobile data prices, with one gigabyte costing as much as $49.67.
In Sao Tome and Principe, one gigabyte of data costs $30.97, while Malawians pay the third highest price for mobile data in Africa, at $25.46 per gigabyte.
Chad, at $23.33 per GB, has the fourth highest mobile data price.
In Namibia, one gigabyte of data costs an average of $22.37 USD.
The rest of the list is as follows:
Central African Republic: The average cost of one gigabyte of data in CAR is $9.03.
Seychelles: This African island nation ranks seventh, with an average price of $8.64 per gigabyte of data.
Gambia: A gigabyte of data costs an average of $5.86 in Gambia.
Mauritania: A gigabyte of data costs an average of $5.56 in this West African country.
Madagascar: The average price for one gigabyte of data in this country is $5:14.
Gabon: A gigabyte of data costs $4.82 on average in Gabon.
Cape Verde: The average cost of one gigabyte of data is $4.78.
Togolese spend $4.69 on average for one gigabyte of data.
Burkina Faso: The average cost of one gigabyte of data is $4.52.
Guinea-Bissau: A gigabyte of data costs $4.41 on average in this country.
Botswana: Botswanans pay $3.92 on average for one gigabyte of data.
Benin Republic residents pay an average of $3.61 for one gigabyte of data.
Mali: The average cost of one gigabyte of data in this country is $3.28.
Sierra Leone: The average cost of one gigabyte of data is $3.26.
Comoros: The average cost of one gigabyte of data is $3.21.