Africa, Middle East handset subscriptions to hit 1.4b by 2023, says GlobalData

Total Africa, Middle East (AME) handset subscriptions is expected to hit 1.4b by 2023, says GlobalData – a leading data and analytics company.

AME handset subscriptions of 733m in 2018, is set to reach 1.4n by 2023, with smartphones accounting for 81% of handsets in 2023 from 54.4% in 2018, according to GlobalData.  During the same period, feature phone subscriptions will decline at a CAGR of -11.7%.

With more than 140 million mobile telephony subscriptions in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy with the highest phone subscriptions is expected to account for over 20% of this growth, said analysts in Lagos.

“The massive growth in smartphone adoption will be largely driven by increasing penetration through lower priced handsets, more affordable device plans, 3G / 4G coverage expansion, growing OTT video adoption and larger data bundles,” said Jonathan Bachrach, Senior Technology Analyst at GlobalData.