COVID-19 implications for the digital divide in Africa

This research paper examines the 'digital divide' in Africa, exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdowns, focusing on socio-economic barriers, infrastructure deficits, information access, and government-mandated internet shutdowns. It proposes a multi-stakeholder approach involving governments, the corporate sector, the African Union, and global bodies to treat internet access as a basic human right and prioritize infrastructure investment and affordability.

• Socio-economic barriers significantly hinder digital access in sub-Saharan Africa; while approximately 747 million people have a mobile connection, only 250 million use a smartphone. In 2019, only 10 of 45 tracked African countries met the affordability threshold where 1GB of mobile prepaid data costs 2% or less of the average monthly income.
• Africa has the lowest internet penetration rate of all continents, recorded at 39.3% at the end of 2019, compared to 53.6% in Asia, 87.2% in Europe, and 94.6% in North America.
• Government-mandated internet shutdowns are used as political tools to suppress dissent, with 25 partial or total shutdowns occurring on the continent in 2019, up from 17 in 2018. These shutdowns cost African economies over USD 2 billion in 2019, and 77% of countries ordering them in the last five years are classified as 'authoritarian regimes' by the Democracy Index.
• Corporate interventions in South Africa, such as price cuts of 20%-50% by Vodacom and MTN and the zero-rating of learning sites, have helped mitigate the digital divide, although the price reductions followed a competition commission investigation rather than being a direct response to COVID-19.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2020). COVID-19 implications for the digital divide in Africa. https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-implications-for-the-digital-divide-in-africa/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. COVID-19 implications for the digital divide in Africa. 2020. https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-implications-for-the-digital-divide-in-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=COVID-19 implications for the digital divide in Africa |date=18 May 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-implications-for-the-digital-divide-in-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2020covid19, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{COVID-19 implications for the digital divide in Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-implications-for-the-digital-divide-in-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }