Heat Maps

The booming market for mobile telephony in South Africa

Again, looking closely at the country level can reveal business opportunities. Even though South Africa has a fairly advanced mobile phone sector, large portions of the country’s poor population lack access (figures 1 and 2). In urban areas, 43% of households living on less than $2 a day have access to a mobile phone, but in rural areas, only 31% do. Households living on more than $2 a day are only slightly better off: in urban areas 56% have phone access, in rural areas 38%. And access varies widely across regions. Cell phone penetration is generally strongest in the west and weakest in the central part of the country. Free State has the greatest disparities: at least 40% of people earning more than $2 have mobile phone access, but fewer than 20% of those earning less than $2 a day do. Studying why access varies so much among regions and among income groups could yield new opportunities to close access gaps.

Figure 1. Market heat map for access to a mobile phone in South Africa

Share of adults living on more and less than $2 a day with access to a mobile phone, 2006 (%)

Click on the maps for higher resolution versions.

Note: Grey spots in the regional map represent smaller towns. Estimates for mobile phone access are taken from the survey category ‘personally make use of…prepaid cell phone’.

Source: Based on FinScope 2006.


Figure 2. Population with access to a mobile phone in South Africa

Percent of adults, by urban or rural location, 2006

Note: Estimates for mobile phone access are taken from the survey category ‘personally make use of…prepaid cell phone’. In South Africa as in many African countries, prepaid is often the only or most-used option.

Source: Based on FinScope 2006.