Africa-Press – Botswana. The majority of households in Botswana – 68.9 percent – had access to the internet in 2024, according to the Botswana Household Access and Individual Use of ICTs Stats Brief 2024 of Statistics Botswana.
Released this month, the report says this represents a 28.3 percentage point increase from 2014 when only 40.6 percent of households had internet access.
It states that most households accessed the internet through mobile broadband networks via handsets, accounting for 86.1 percent of internet-connected households.
Urban-Rural divide
“Household internet access was mainly through a Mobile Broadband Network via a Handset,” the report notes.
“Looking at internet access on a regional basis, household internet connectivity was highest in urban areas (79.2 percent), compared with rural areas (20.8 percent).”
Male-headed households made up 52.2 percent of those with internet access, while female-headed households accounted for 47.8 percent.
Males, 1-person households more connected
One-person households were the most connected, making up 32.3 percent of all connected homes, followed by two-person and three-person households at 19.5 and 16.0 percent, respectively.
The report also notes that 73.9 percent of households with children under the age of 15 had internet access, compared to 66.4 percent of households without children under 15.
“Households headed by those within the age groups 25–54 years dominated in households with internet connectivity,” it states.
Cost barrier
Households led by individuals with tertiary and secondary education levels were the most likely to have internet access.
Significantly, 31.1 percent of households had no internet access in 2024, a drop from 59.4 percent in 2014.
The most common reason cited for not having internet access was the high cost of internet equipment (34.3 percent), followed by lack of skills or knowledge (32.4 percent) and the high cost of internet services (28.7 percent).
Additionally, 25.5 percent of households without internet said they lacked electricity.
Females have more cellphones
The report shows that mobile telephone usage remained widespread, with 84.2 percent of individuals aged five years and above using mobile phones in 2024.
Female users made up 53.9 percent of the total, compared to 46.1 percent male users.
“In 2024, mobile telephone use was prominent in urban areas where 71.1 percent of individuals used them,” the report said. Kweneng East accounted for the highest regional share of users at 16.1 percent, followed by Gaborone (12.3 percent) and Central Serowe (8.6 percent).
Popular mobile activities
The report notes that mobile phones were primarily used for communication, social media access, media consumption, and mobile money transactions.
The 35–44 age group represented the highest proportion of users at 19.5 percent, followed closely by the 25–34 age group at 19.2 percent. Usage was lowest among those aged 75 and older at 2.4 percent.
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