Mobile phone service is widespread in Africa, but access to basic infrastructure such as electricity and running water is limited. A 2016 survey found that 93% of Africans have cell phone service, while only 65% have access to electricity and 63% have access to running water. North Africa has the best access to services, while East Africa has the worst. Without electricity at home, cell phone users rely on solar charging stations or central charging stations in cities.
Mobile phone service is readily available in much of Africa, but infrastructure that much of the world takes for granted, such as sanitation systems and electricity, is more scarce. A 2016 survey by the non-partisan organization Afrobarometer found that around 93% of Africans live in areas with cell phone service, yet only 65% have access to electricity and 63% have access to running water. The Afrobarometer report also examined how access to essential services has improved in 18 African countries since 2005. While the availability of cell phone service has increased by 23%, road infrastructure has increased by only 16%, access to water and electricity by 14%, and sewage by just 8%. Overall, North Africa has the best access to services, while East Africa has the worst.
A world connected with mobile phones:
In countries like Mauritius and Egypt, access to electricity and running water is nearly universal, yet only 17% of Burundians have electricity and only 17% of Liberians have access to running water.
“Many people could very well be living in the 19th century,” says Winnie V. Mitullah, director of the University of Nairobi’s Institute for Development Studies.
Without electricity at home, cell phone users typically recharge their devices using solar charging stations, central charging stations in cities that have them, or by tapping into a car battery.
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