Measuring Internet Access in Sub-Saharan Africa
The ability to access the internet has increasingly become an important tool for poverty reduction, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite its importance, measuring internet use in low-income settings is plagued by differences between dat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/121531596521881138/Measuring-Internet-in-Access-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa-SSA http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34302 |
| Summary: | The ability to access the internet has
increasingly become an important tool for poverty reduction,
especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite its
importance, measuring internet use in low-income settings is
plagued by differences between data sources and lack of a
consistent definition of what it means exactly to have
internet access. This Note compares different data sources
available for monitoring internet use in Sub-Saharan Africa
(SSA) and examines a database of household surveys from 25
countries in the region. Three main findings emerge: (a)
Household internet access may be less prevalent than
commonly believed, (b) Access rates are particularly low for
rural and poorer households, and (c) Many people in SSA
access the internet through mobile phones rather than a home
computer. Although many questions remain unanswered,
household surveys are an important and underutilized
resource to inform efforts to expand internet access in SSA. |
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