Nigeria has ranked seventh among Sub-Saharan African countries in terms of internet speed, according to the 2024 Worldwide Broadband Speed Report by Cable.co.uk.
The report, published on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, indicates that Nigeria recorded an average download speed of 27.62 megabits per second (Mbps).
The ranking reveals an improvement for Nigeria, which moved up from 133rd in 2023 to 132nd globally in 2024. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Réunion leads with an average internet speed of 63.29 Mbps, followed by South Africa with 42.42 Mbps. Other countries ahead of Nigeria include Eswatini, Rwanda, Mauritius, and Botswana.
Conversely, Sudan (4.02 Mbps, 223rd), Central African Republic (4.08 Mbps, 222nd), and Ethiopia (4.45 Mbps, 221st) rank among the slowest ten countries worldwide for average network speed. The report also highlights that the average internet speed in Africa stands at 14.99 Mbps, making it the region with the second-lowest internet speed globally.
The report notes that “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).”
This development comes as Nigeria continues to strive toward achieving its National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020-2025, led by the Nigerian Communications Commission. Despite aiming for 70 percent broadband penetration by 2025, Nigeria had only reached 43.7 percent as of December 2023.
