L. ex Africa semper aliquid novi, Pliny, the Elder was right “There is always something new from Africa.”  Mobile phones usage in Africa continue
to break new barriers. Africa was the first continet where mobile phone users outnumbered the number of fixed telephone line (landlines).

It is estimated that where only 2% of Africans were using mobile phones in 2000, 28% have cell phones today. Although a Harvard university blog shows the mobile phone penetration in Africa to be a mere 40% , it is remarkable to note that mobile/cell phone access  may exceed access to electricity in several Sub-Sarahan Africa.

Sub-Sarahan Africa has an extimated total population of 738 million people. Out of these, 547 million have no access to electricity. Therefore, less than 26 percent of the Sub-Sarahan Africans have electricity compared to the 28 percent that have access to mobile phones.  Burkina Faso and Kenya are among the African countries where there is greater access to mobile phones than electricity.

Percentage of Population with Access to Cell Towers:
Burkina Faso – 10.9%; Uganda – 13.58%; Kenya – 30.48%; Angola – 15%; Mozambique – 15.42%; Nigeria – 27.28; Ghana – 32.39 (source).

Percentage of Population with Access to Electricity:
Burkina Faso – 7%; Uganda – 8.9%; Kenya – 14%; Angola – 15%; Mozambique – 6.3%; Nigeria – 46.0 and Ghana – 49.2% (source).