Nigeria Ranks 7th In Sub-Saharan Africa For Internet Speed

Nigeria has risen to become the seventh fastest country in Sub-Saharan Africa for internet speed, with an average download speed of 27.62 Mbps.

This was highlighted in the 2024 Worldwide Broadband Speed Report released on Tuesday by Cable.co.uk. The report, based on broadband speed tests conducted in 220 countries, showed Nigeria improved its global speed ranking, moving from 133rd in 2023 to 132nd in 2024.

In Africa, Nigeria is ranked behind Réunion, South Africa, Eswatini, Rwanda, Mauritius, and Botswana, which occupy the first to sixth positions, respectively. Réunion leads Sub-Saharan Africa with an average internet speed of 63.29 Mbps, while South Africa follows with 42.42 Mbps.

The report also noted that the average internet speed in Africa is 14.99 Mbps, making it the region with the second-lowest internet speed globally. “50 countries were measured in the second-slowest region Sub-Saharan Africa, which averaged a download speed of 14.99 Mbps overall. All but two of the countries found themselves in the slowest half of the league table. Going against the trend somewhat were Réunion (63.29 Mbps, 75th), South Africa (42.42 Mbps, 114th), and Eswatini (37.23 Mbps, 120th). Meanwhile, Sudan (4.02 Mbps, 223rd), Central African Republic (4.08 Mbps, 222nd), and Ethiopia (4.45 Mbps, 221st) all fell among the slowest ten countries in the world for average network speed,” the report stated.

Globally, the analysis of around 1.5 billion broadband speed tests revealed that Iceland has the fastest broadband in the world, with an average speed of 279.55 Mbps. Jersey, another Western European country, came second with 273.51 Mbps, and the Asian region’s Macao ranked third with 234.74 Mbps.

The report further indicated that 35 countries failed to achieve average speeds of 10 Mbps or greater, the minimum speed deemed necessary by UK telecoms watchdog Ofcom for typical family or small business needs. This is a decrease from 48 countries in 2023, 67 countries in 2022, and 94 countries in 2021, showing significant speed improvements in many regions.

Nigeria is actively working to enhance internet speed and access through its National Broadband Plan (NBP 2020-2025). Although some targets have been missed, the country is making strides in improving broadband speed.

According to the Plan, internet speed in Nigeria was expected to reach 15 Mbps in urban areas and 5 Mbps in rural areas by 2023. The global report confirmed that Nigeria has exceeded these targets with a recorded speed of 27.62 Mbps.

The improvement in internet speed, though primarily seen in major cities, can be attributed to the launch of 5G services by MTN and Airtel.

Additionally, the entry of Elon Musk’s Starlink is contributing to boosting internet access and speed in the country. According to users, Starlink currently delivers over 50 Mbps in both urban and rural areas in Nigeria.

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