Cell Phones in Africa: Communication Lifeline
Cell phones have different uses for different people, but sending text messages and taking pictures or video are the most popular activities among mobile owners. In a few nations, such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, mobile banking is also relatively common. Other activities, such as getting political news, accessing a social networking site, getting health and consumer information and looking for a job are done less frequently.
These are among the main findings of a Pew Research Center survey in seven sub-Saharan African nations. The survey was conducted April 11 to June 5, 2014, among 7,052 respondents in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. All interviews were face-to-face. Comparison figures for the U.S. are from 2014 Pew Research Center surveys. (For more on technology use in Africa and other emerging and developing nations worldwide, see 
Men are more likely than women to own a cell phone in six of the seven countries surveyed. For example, 77% of Ugandan men own a mobile phone, while only 54% of Ugandan women do. While not as dramatic, significant gender gaps on mobile phone ownership appear in all the other African countries surveyed except South Africa, where equal numbers of men and women own cell phones. Men are also more likely to own a smartphone than women in four countries – Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Uganda.
A median of 17% across the sub-Saharan African countries surveyed do not own a mobile phone. However, this does not necessarily mean they do not have any access to cell phones; they may share one with someone else. In fact, in spring 2013, when Pew Research asked Kenyans who did not own a cell phone whether they shared one with someone else, 58% of those non-cell phone owners said yes. And 21% of Kenyan mobile phone owners said that they shared their phones with others. Nevertheless, women, the less-educated and those who cannot read or speak English are less likely to have their own mobile phone.
Texting and Taking Pictures or Video Most Popular Cell Phone Activities
Among cell phone owners in Africa, the most popular activity is sending text messages. Overall, a median of 80% of mobile phone owners across the seven sub-Saharan countries surveyed say they do this with their phones. This includes 95% in South Africa and 92% in Tanzania. In all the countries, at least half of cell phone owners say they send text messages with their devices.
The second most popular activity is taking pictures or videos. A median of 53% among cell phone owners say they have done this in the past year. Using mobile devices for pictures and videos is most popular in South Africa (60% among cell owners) and Nigeria (57%).
Generally, young people, those with a higher education and Africans with the ability to read or speak English are more likely to participate in most of these mobile activities. For example, 65% of mobile owners ages 18 to 34 in Ghana say they use their device to send text messages, while only 34% of those 35 and older do this. Similarly, 62% of young, cell-owning Ghanaians say they take pictures or video with their phones, but only 33% among the older generations do.
These demographic differences do not appear for all activities. Similar numbers of young (18-34 years old) and older people (35+) say they use their cell phones for making or receiving payments.
Landline Penetration Near Zero
While mobile networks in sub-Saharan Africa have spread rapidly, landline penetration in the seven countries surveyed is close to zero. A median of only 2% across these nations say they have a working landline telephone in their house, with a median of 97% saying they do not have one. There is little variation across the countries on landline ownership. Landlines are simply rare on the continent. By contrast, 60% of Americans have a landline telephone in their household. (However, the share of wireless-only households in the U.S. has been growing rapidly over the past decade as landline ownership falls.)
