According to the 2024 Worldwide Broadband Speed Report, Nigeria emerged seventh in the ranking of Sub-Saharan African countries with the fastest internet speed, trailing behind Réunion, South Africa, Eswatini, Rwanda, Mauritius, and Botswana.
The report, published by Cable.co.uk., showed that Nigeria’s average download speed is 27.62 megabits per second.
Out of 220 countries, Nigeria moved one place up in the global speed ranking from 133rd in 2023 to 132nd in 2024.
Meanwhile, in Africa, Réunion topped the list for Sub-Saharan Africa with an average internet speed of 63.29 Mbps while South Africa came second with 42.42 Mbps.
Sudan (4.02Mbps, 223rd), Central African Republic (4.08Mbps, 222nd), and Ethiopia (4.45Mbps, 221st) were among the slowest in the world.
The report also indicated that Africa’s average internet speed is 14.99 Mbps, making it the region with the second-lowest internet speed globally.
“50 countries were measured in the second-slowest region, Sub-Saharan Africa, which averaged a download speed of 14.99Mbps overall. All but two of the countries found themselves in the slowest half of the league table.
“Going against the trend somewhat were Réunion (63.29Mbps, 75th), South Africa (42.42Mbps, 114th), and Eswatini (37.23Mbps, 120th),” the report said.
The Nigerian government is facing challenges in meeting its National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020-2025 goals, which the Nigerian Communications Commission spearheaded.
The country aims to achieve 70% broadband penetration by 2025, but as of December 2023, it has only reached 43.7%.