Snapshot: mobile and internet in East Africa [Infographic]

With the rapid adoption of everything from instant messaging apps to mobile payment solutions, it’s no secret that Africa’s mobile usage is continuing to climb. But what’s going on in the eastern region of the continent?

Nairobi-based coworking space and business incubator iHub is hoping to make the situation clearer by putting together an infographic of some of the most recent statistics of mobile, telephone and internet use in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, which shows just how varied the region is in terms of mobile and internet adoption.

Kenya seems to be leading the way with 78% teledensity and 41% of its population online, although Tanzania, with a slightly larger population, sees more ingoing and outgoing SMSes. Still, Kenyans are sending an average of 40 SMSes a month, contributing to a total SMS volume that trippled from 1-billion to over 3-billion in the last quarter of 2012. In addition to that, some 99% of internet/data subscriptions in the country are mobile-based.

In contrast, Burundi, which is home to over 10-million people, has just under 3-million mobile subscribers. But that figure is rising rapidly, with mobile subscription rates growing by 17% in the last year alone. In every country, mobile subscribers vastly outweigh the number of fixed lines, suggesting not just voice traffic, but internet access, will continue to be mobile-driven.

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Image: iHub Research