Internet

Tanzania estimated internet users reached 29,071,817 in March 2021.  

This represents a yearly increase of +8.3% from 26,832,089 estimated internet users in March 2020.

With a population of 58.01 million (WB data 2019), Tanzania has reached an internet service penetration of 50% vs 46% in 2019 (TCRA data).

More than 90% of Tanzanians access the internet through their mobile phones, and although mobile data prices are reasonably low, they remain unaffordable for segments of the population that mostly reside in rural areas, resulting in a large gap in Internet use between urban and rural areas.

Tanzania Mobile Internet

The most common broadband service in Tanzania is given through 2G connections, which offers a speed of up to 0.3 Mbps and is used by 90% of the mobile subscribers in Tanzania.

At the end of 2018, 3G and 4G networks covered around 61% and 28% of Tanzania’s population respectively.

British technology research firm Cable estimates the average cost of one mobile gigabyte (1GB) in Tanzania to be USD 0.75, making the country the 32nd cheapest in the world, and the cheapest in East Africa.

However, consumer taxes represent a significant share (32%) of the cost of mobile services. This is higher than the average share of consumer taxes in Sub-Saharan Africa (22%).

Tanzania Internet Services Regulation

In July 2020 Tanzania introduced the Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations, 2020.

Under the regulations, a person shall only provide online content services after having obtained a licence from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).

There are four categories of online content licences: provision of predominant news and current affairs, provision of predominant entertainment content, provision of predominant education and religious content, and simulcasting licence.

Last Updated: 24 May 2021

Sources: Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).