Top 10 African countries with fast internet speeds

Internet penetration is growing in Africa and more people use the internet for various reasons such as work, school, accessing information as well as, more recently, streaming video content such as YouTube, Netflix, Showmax, and more. New streaming video services are making strides in the African market but with slow internet speeds, streaming video can prove to be difficult.

Although, when compared to the world, Africa is lagging. This can be attributed to the cost of data, infrastructure and slow connection speeds. Some African countries like Kenya are not so far behind. To watch a show, Netflix requires a 0.5 Mbps connection speed, but the streaming company recommends a minimum 1.5 Mbps broadband connection speed and for users to be able to watch an HD quality video they need 5.0 Mbps.

Other streaming operators suggest having an internet connection speed of between 1 Mbps and 6 Mbps is suitable with the upper figure being for HD quality video streaming. This is below the 10Mbps average speed deemed by Ofcom to be the minimum required to cope with the needs of a typical family or small business.

New data, extracted by Cable.co.uk from broadband speed tests worldwide reveals the countries in the world that have the fastest broadband internet connections.

Some people would prefer to download movies and TV series. Downloading videos requires fast internet speeds and increased connectivity. The test measured overall speeds as well as the time it would take to download a 7.5 GB movie. Additionally, it mainly focused on fixed broadband connections, which placed Africa at a disadvantage regarding infrastructure challenges.

According to the report, some African countries do much better with mobile internet comparisons. Kenya’s mobile internet speed ranking is higher than some advanced economies such as the USA.

Cable.co.uk analysed data which was collected over a 12 month period up to 10 May 2017, including 189 countries. The ranking is put together by New America’s Open Technology Institute, Google Open Source Research and Princeton University’s Planet Lab.

The three worst ranked countries include DR Congo, Burkina Faso and Gabon with Kenya, Morocco and South Africa topping the list. Let’s take a look at the top ten African countries with the fastest broadband internet speed and how long it would take to download an HD movie with a size of 7.5 GB.

1. Kenya
This East African country has a download speed of 8.83 Mbps. Out of 183 countries, Kenya is positioned at number 51. It would take nearly two hours to download a high definition movie in Kenya.

2. Morocco
Ranked second in Africa, this North African country has a speed of 4.38 Mbps it would take close to four hours to download a high definition movie in Morocco.

3. South Africa
South Africa has a download speed of 4.36 Mbps according to the report. This African country is ranked 80 globally and would take on roughly 3 hours 54 seconds to download an HD movie with a size of 7.5 GB. It has the third fastest internet connection in Africa.

4. Tunisia
Situated in the North of Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert, Tunisia is ranked 88 globally and takes 4 hours 52 minutes to download a high definition video. The internet speed in Tunisia is 3.5 Mbps.

5. Madagascar
It would take 4 hours 53 minutes to download a high definition movie in Madagascar, the island clocked fourth in Africa and 89 globally. Madagascar has a download speed of 3.49 Mbps.

6. Nigeria
This West African country has one of the highest internet users in Africa. Nigeria is ranked 95 globally. It would take a user in Nigeria 5 hours 25 minutes to download a 7.5 GB high definition movie. Nigeria has a download speed of 3.15 Mbps.

7. Zimbabwe
South Africa’s neighbour, Zimbabwe has a download speed of 2.49 Mbps and it would take 6 hours 50 minutes to download a high definition video. Zimbabwe takes on the number seven spot.

8. Zambia
Situated in the South of Africa, Zambia has a download speed of 2.45 Mbps, much like Zimbabwe, it would take 6 hours 58 minutes to download a high definition movie. Zambia is ranked 106 globally.

9. Ghana
This West African country has a download speed of 2.3 Mbps, it would take users 8 hours 4 minutes to download a high definition movie. Ghana has the second least fast internet speed in Africa. It is ranked at 116 globally.

10. Uganda
With a download speed of 2.12 Mbps, this East African country has the slowest internet speed. It would take 8 hours 4 minutes to download a high definition movie in Uganda.

Source: IT News Africa