Sub-Saharan African countries lost $1.56 billion to government-induced shutdowns in 2024, according to a new report by Top10vpn, an international VPN review website.
This is 19 per cent of the total $7.69 billion that was lost to Internet shutdowns worldwide and a 10 per cent decline from $1.74 billion reported in 2023.
According to the report, there were a total of 28 Internet shutdowns across 28 countries. Thirteen of these were African countries — Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Algeria, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal, Mozambique, Chad, Mauritius, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, and Equatorial Guinea.
It revealed that Nigeria stood out as one of the few sub-Saharan African countries to avoid internet shutdowns in 2024.
Experts say the absence of an internet shutdown suggests that people in that country have continuous and unrestricted access to the internet, allowing them to communicate, access information, and participate in online activities without disruption imposed by the government.
Sudan is the African country that lost the most — $1.12 billion — to Internet shutdowns. Total Internet shutdowns in the country lasted for more than 12,707 hours or over 529 days.
The Internet shutdown in Sudan is mainly due to a prolonged conflict in the country, which has claimed 13,000 and displaced more than 10 million people.
Other African countries like Kenya and Ethiopia shut down the Internet because of protests.
Both countries lost $75 million and $211 million to Internet shutdowns, respectively.
Major platforms such as X, TikTok, Signal, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were restricted, affecting approximately 111.2 million internet users in the country.
“In late February 2024, authorities in Myanmar once again started blocking access to X. As this was a new restriction. This is also the second year we have included blocks of newer social media platforms, such as TikTok and Telegram,” it said.
Globally, Asia led in terms of internet shutdowns in 2024, losing $4.64 billion over 48,807 hours of disruptions affecting 331.3 million people. Sub-Saharan Africa followed with $1.5 billion in losses spread over 32,938 hours and impacting 111.2 million internet users.
While the global economic impact of internet shutdowns decreased by 16 percent compared to 2024, the duration of shutdowns increased by 12 per cent in the same period. The report emphasised the damaging effects of internet shutdowns, both in terms of economic and human costs, and highlighted concerns about citizens resorting to unsafe VPNs to circumvent imposed restrictions.
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