In eMarketer’s fifth annual “Global Media Intelligence Report,” an estimated 336.5 million people living in Africa and the Middle East will access the internet at least once a month during 2014. That number clocks in at nearly 25 percent more than was what estimated in 2013.
Here is the estimated growth of Internet usage in the Middle East and Africa
2012 – 225.9 million, a 39.7 percent change from the previous year
2013 – 298.5 million, a 16.7 percent change from the previous year
2014 – 336.5 million, a 12.7 percent change from the previous year
2015 – 370.8 million, a 10.2 percent change from the previous year
2016 – 403.1 million, an 8.7 percent change from the previous year
2017 – 431.3 million, a 7.0 percent change from the previous year
2018 – 457.6 million, a 6.1 percent change from the previous year
Smart phone users have also jumped considerably around the Middle East and Africa. In Kuwait, the percentage of users jumped from 49 percent in 2012 to 69 percent in 2013. In Lebanon there was a 27 percent difference from 2012 to 2013, with numbers jumping from 36 to 63 percent. Penetration was the lowest in Egypt, with 5 percent in 2012, and only 6 percent in 2013.
In 2012, there were almost 65 million smart phone users. In 2013, 93.3 million. By the end of this year, there will be 122.4 million smart phone users. The study found that the numbers steadily increase, and by 2018, there will be 221.1 million smart phone users, or 14.8 percent of the Middle Eastern and African population.
Finally, the study noted that tablet purchases are also on the rise for the region. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2013, shipments of tablets grew 111 percent year over year, or 3.45 million for that quarter alone.
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