Sub-Saharan Africa has the most expensive mobile data in the world — the average cost of 1 GB there is $6.5, as opposed to Northern Africa — the region with the lowest cost in the world where 1 GB is $1.5. The worldwide average is $4.
According to recent research by Cable.co.uk, three countries of Sub-Saharan Africa are in the Top-5 countries of the world with the most expensive mobile data:
1. Equatorial Guinea ($50 for 1 GB).
2. The Falkland Islands ($45 for 1 GB).
3. Saint Helena ($40 for 1 GB).
4. São Tomé and Principe ($31 for 1 GB).
5. Malawi ($25 for 1 GB).
The average price of 1 GB of mobile data is higher than $20 in both Namibia and Chad.
In general, all the countries of Northern Africa have a lower average cost for 1 GB than the worldwide average of $4. The lowest prices for mobile data in Africa are in Sudan ($0.3) and Algeria ($0.5). It is only Mauritania that stands out with its $6 for 1 GB.
Russia, as well as other CIS countries, has a relatively low cost of mobile data — $0.3 for 1 GB. The lowest cost of 1 GB in the world is in Israel — $0.05.
Researchers highlight that in the Sub-Saharan Africa, data packages of just tens of megabytes at a time are more common, which makes a gigabyte a relatively large and therefore expensive amount of data to buy. Higher prices in Africa are usually down to poor infrastructure and low demand & consumption.
As for the lower prices, they are typical for countries with well-developed infrastructure and those which are heavily reliant on mobile data. Then the purchasing power of people dictates the price.
Data for some countries is not available because of «unreliable exchange rates» or the «absence of providers».