The price of Internet bundles worldwide is slowly meeting new lows year in year out. This is heavily attributed to the competition strides in several countries, and on a lesser strike, the rise of satellite uplinks by Google, Space X, and Facebook.
Well, in East Africa, the cost of 1GB of data was known to be high before top telcos like Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom in Kenya introduced more offers as MTN, Airtel, and Africell in Uganda paved way for mid-week offers the same way Vodacom slashed its bundle prices in Tanzania.
Either way, the end of MTN Rwanda’s monopoly streak by Tigo and RwandaTel lowered the overall cost for data in the country of 1000 hills. With such developments, the fate of data prices in East Africa has attracted bears pushing the price down year by year.
In 2019, Rwanda was reportedly the country with the lowest cost for 1GB of data, but as of 2020, Tanzania rocks with a lower flag at $0.73. This means the average cost of 1GB in East Africa is on a downward trend.
| Global Rank | East African Country | Avg Price of 1GB (USD) | Local Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Tanzania | 0.73 | TZs 1,690.48 |
| 41 | Kenya | 1.05 | KES 112.15 |
| 64 | Rwanda | 1.48 | RWF 1,346.67 |
| 70 | Uganda | 1.62 | UGX 6,125 |
| 84 | Burundi | 2.12 | BIF 4,000 |
The cost of 1GB in East Africa Vs the rest of Africa
In a report published by Cable, it’s findings were captured from 5,554 mobile data plans in 228 countries worldwide with 1GB of data as its benchmark figure.
In Africa, Somalia, Algeria, and Sudan rock with the cheapest cost for data at $0.50,$0.63, $0.65 respectively. Their prices can be attributed to their semi-arid environment that attracts fewer fiber connections, but more mobile wireless telephony.
| Global Rank | Country | Avg price of 1GB (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Somalia | 0.50 |
| 13 | Sudan | 0.63 |
| 15 | Algeria | 0.65 |
| 22 | Réunion | 0.72 |
| 34 | Ghana | 0.94 |
| 36 | Western Sahara | 0.99 |
| 37 | Morocco | 0.99 |
| 44 | Mayotte | 1.08 |
| 45 | Egypt | 1.09 |
| 48 | Djibouti | 1.12 |
| 56 | Zambia | 1.36 |
| 57 | Tunisia | 1.37 |
| 58 | Nigeria | 1.39 |
| 78 | Congo | 1.94 |
| 81 | Guinea | 2.08 |
| 86 | Lesotho | 2.13 |
| 94 | Ethiopia | 2.44 |
| 96 | Burkina Faso | 2.47 |
| 98 | Mauritius | 2.48 |
| 107 | Cameroon | 2.75 |
| 113 | Côte d’Ivoire | 3.20 |
| 117 | Liberia | 3.25 |
| 120 | Niger | 3.30 |
| 121 | Senegal | 3.30 |
| 123 | Mozambique | 3.33 |
| 129 | Sierra Leone | 3.69 |
| 143 | Guinea-Bissau | 4.12 |
| 144 | Mali | 4.12 |
| 148 | South Africa | 4.30 |
| 149 | Comoros | 4.38 |
| 150 | Togo | 4.50 |
| 153 | Mauritania | 4.63 |
| 157 | Libya | 4.73 |
| 159 | Namibia | 4.78 |
| 160 | Cape Verde | 4.81 |
| 163 | Gabon | 4.89 |
| 168 | Gambia | 5.10 |
| 170 | Angola | 5.29 |
| 189 | Central African Republic | 8.25 |
| 193 | Madagascar | 8.81 |
| 205 | Seychelles | 11.43 |
| 210 | Equatorial Guinea | 12.78 |
| 211 | Eswatini | 13.31 |
| 215 | Botswana | 13.87 |
| 221 | Chad | 23.33 |
| 222 | Benin | 27.22 |
| 223 | Malawi | 27.41 |
| 224 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 28.26 |
| 228 | Saint Helena | 52.50 |
However, African countries not measured on the list include: South Sudan, Eriteria due to the lack of Internet service providers, then DRC and Zimbabwe due to the pricing of data in Units and unreliable exchange rates respectively.