Rabat – Morocco’s mobile internet is one of the cheapest in Africa, and in general, in the cheapest half of the global ranking.
According to Cable.co.uk, Morocco ranks 45th globally while on the African continent, Morocco takes 10th place, if we exclude the French overseas departments, Reunion and Mayotte.
Going by the formal ranking, globally, Morocco is 45th out of 230 countries assessed, with a cost for a gigabyte of mobile data averaging at $0.88 (MAD 7.96). Algeria is the best performing North African country when it comes to cheap mobile data. Morocco’s neighbor enjoys the second cheapest mobile internet on the continent, and 16th cheapest globally, with one gigabyte averaging at $0.51 (MAD 4.55).
As for other North African states, Libya’s mobile internet on average costs $0.74 (MAD 6.60), placing it fifth on the continent and 30th in the world, while Egypt and Tunisia fall behind, ranking 55th and 59th respectively. In both countries, mobile data averages out at just above a dollar a gigabyte.
Read also: Moroccans Who Have Access to Internet Reached 29 Million in 2020
Mauritania’s mobile data, which costs $5.56 (MAD 49.59) a gigabyte, places the country among the most expensive countries in Africa, as well as the world. It ranks 45th in Africa and 188th in the world.
The study notes that “All but one of the seven North African countries are in the cheapest half of the table… [The region] is the cheapest overall region in the world.” Mauritania is the only country in the region to exceed the global average of USD 4.07 (MAD 36.30).
Overall, the cheapest data in the world is in Israel, “With three-quarters of Israelis owning a smartphone, Israel boasts a higher smartphone market penetration than the [US].”
As for the most expensive, the study notes that “Sub-Saharan Africa is the most expensive region in the world for mobile data generally, while island nations also tend to be among the most expensive.” As such, the five most expensive countries, in terms of the average cost of one gigabyte of mobile data, were Equatorial Guinea ($49.67/MAD 443.04), Falkland Islands ($44.56/MAD 397.46), Saint Helena ($39.87/MAD 355.62), Sao Tome and Príncipe ($30.97/MAD 276.24) and Malawi ($25.46/MAD 227.09).
Worldwide, North Africa is considered the cheapest region for mobile data, compared to Sub-Saharan Africa which is the most expensive region, including six out of the ten most expensive countries in the world. Equatorial Guinea has the most expensive mobile data in the world.
