According to InternetWorldStats.com, at the end of year 2000, the number of Internet users in Africa was 4,514,400. This was very little when compared to stats of Asia, North America, Europe, and considering that Africa as a continent is dubbed "second most populous in the world".
Usage Growth Rate from 2000-2008 shows 1,031.2 % for Africa, which is the second highest behind Middle East's 1,176.8%. Africa currently has 51,065,630 Internet users.
This quite appreciable growth rate seems to have been achieved in the presence of diverse challenges. Different continents of the world have different challenges, Africa is simply not excluded.
Internet and mobile technology couldn't penetrate Africa on time, because during the period of their explosion in other continents, some other factors posed themselves as direct obstructions to these great technology inventions. The kind of government ran in most African countries in the early 1990s will never provide the right environment for inventors and investors.
As at 2000, when the Internet had obviously become a household technology in some parts of the world, Africa was just beginning to adjust to an invention-friendly government and polity. This, no doubt, accounted for the low number of Internet users as at then. There were lots of ISPs in Africa back then, but they were mainly operating under major ISPs in Europe and Asia. World stats will not attribute these users to Africa because the main ISPs were from abroad.
Today, Internet and mobile technology in Africa seems to be breathing the freshest of air when compared to previous years. But are there no more challenges? There are still different challenges of Internet and mobile technology in Africa, some of which are not different from what are experienced in other continents, but Africa has other domestic challenges to deal with.
From 2000, when Internet technology began to receive the right welcome in Africa, Internet and mobile technology were initially targeted at the urban areas. This was expected because the facilities and customers were in the urban areas, and they were more exposed to its significance. But with the rural areas current development and gradual acquaintance to mobile technology, ISPs in Africa are beginning to extend their tentacles to the "villages".
Health care, domestic development, production, etc. are all challenges in Africa. Internet and mobile technology is just among the list, but may not be the most serious. A good number of Internet users in Africa make use of cybercafs, some with ISPs abroad. The African ISPs provide dial-up connectivity, as most broadband ISPs are confined only to a particular city or region.
Asia still has the highest number of Internet users in the world; however, with the growth rate in Africa and demand increase, Internet and mobile technology may have discovered a good soil to build a forest.
Top Ten African Countries with Internet Users
Nigeria: 10%
Egypt: 8.6%
Morocco: 7.3%
South Africa: 5.1%
Algeria: 3.5%
Kenya: 3.0%
Uganda: 2.0%
Tunisia: 1.8%
Sudan: 1.5%
Zimbabwe: 1.4%
Source