Increased connectivity in Africa to facilitate job creation, poverty reduction — World Bank report

Only 22% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa had access to mobile internet services at the end of 2021, says a recent report by the World Bank, arguing that lack of mobile internet access is hampering job creation and poverty reduction in the region.

Despite the increased connectivity of the world, there are still significant gaps in access to technology. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 22% of the population had access to mobile internet services at the end of 2021, according to the report titled “Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs”. The World Bank report highlights the largest gap between the availability of digital infrastructure and people’s actual usage in sub-Saharan Africa compared to all other regions in the world. African countries are in critical need to increase the uptake of digital technologies to drive employment growth and reduce poverty.

The report found that, on average, 84% of a given country’s population had at least some level of 3G mobile internet availability, and 63% had some level of 4G mobile internet services. However, only 22% of the population used mobile internet services by the end of 2021. This disparity in usage rates ranges from 6% in South Sudan to 53% in South Africa, demonstrating the need for differentiated policy reforms across countries.

The report emphasizes the critical need for African countries to increase the uptake of digital technologies to drive employment growth for the more than 22 million Africans joining the workforce each year. Africa’s share of the global workforce is projected to become the largest in the world by 2100, making it vital to increase the uptake of digital technologies to create jobs and reduce poverty.