Charts / Technology
Mobile Internet: Covered vs Actually Using
Across regions, far more people are covered by mobile broadband than actually use it.
Updated 2026 · Data year 2023
Figure 1
Across regions, far more people are covered by mobile broadband than actually use it.
80%
North America · %
Using mobile internetCovered by network
Source: GSMA · 2023 · Share of population covered by a mobile broadband network vs share actually using mobile internet, end of 2023.
Globally 96% of people were covered by a mobile broadband network at the end of 2023, but only 57% actually used mobile internet, leaving a 39-point usage gap. The gap was widest in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 87% were covered yet just 27% were online, a 60-point usage gap.
Takeaways
- Worldwide, 96% were covered by mobile broadband but only 57% used mobile internet.
- Sub-Saharan Africa's usage gap was 60 points: 87% covered, 27% using.
- In the Middle East & North Africa and South Asia, about half the population used mobile internet.
- North America had the highest usage at 80%, against 99% coverage.
- Coverage was near-universal (96-99%) outside Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sources
- TIER A GSMA, The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2024 (2024). https://gsma.com/r/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-State-of-Mobile-Internet-Connectivity-Report-2024.pdf
Coverage and usage figures by region, data as of end of 2023. 'Covered' = 100% minus the coverage gap.