Internet company, Opera has released its State of the Mobile Web Africa 2016 Report, highlighting mobile internet trends across the continent, including consumer browsing behaviour and app usage. According to the report, Ghanaians, Kenyans, Seychellois and Mauritians are the highest data users with an average usage of over 160MB/month.
Findings also show that visits to streaming video websites on Opera Mini in Africa have increased by 36 percent since 2012. Users from Tanzania (22 percent) are most likely to visit YouTube followed by South Africa (20 percent) and Ghana (19 percent).
South Africa ranks first in Africa in terms of app usage, with a third of its population using mobile applications, followed by 31 percent in Ghana, 28 percent in Nigeria, 19 percent in Kenya and 18 percent in Uganda. Nigerians are regular social media users with 70 percent of Nigeria’s 16 million Facebook users, accessing the site via Opera Mini. In addition, Opera Mini users are accessing local news as much as 300 percent more than in 2014.
Compression is key
“We believe data compression is as relevant and useful now as it was a decade ago – in fact, with the growth of smartphone penetration coupled with prohibitively high data costs, it’s a critical enabler. “The #DataMustFall movement in South Africa demonstrates that people don’t feel like they’re getting value for money. The compression technology used in Opera Mini and Opera Max helps consumers save on data costs and addresses issues relating to congestion and page sizes. Ultimately, a lighter mobile web enhances usability, functionality and access – even in poor network conditions,” said Richard Monday, VP, Opera Africa.
