The use of mobile phones to access the web is exploding on the African continent.
According to Opera’s State of the Mobile Web Report for the month of June, South Africa, Ukraine, the United States and Vietnam all climb one position up the list of top ten countries (number of Opera Mini users), while Nigeria dropped from 5 to 9.
The top 12 countries using Opera Mini in Africa are South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Sudan, Libya, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Namibia, Mozambique and Mauritius. Between June 2009 and June 2010 the number of page views in those African countries increased by 182%, with unique users increasing by 124% and the amount of data transferred increasing by 160%.
Sudan and Ghana lead the way when it comes to page-view growth (4 645.6% and 916.5%), whilst Kenya leads the top 12 countries in Africa in terms of page views per user, with an average 639 pages being browsed per user each month.
“The mobile web is growing quickly throughout Africa,” said Jon von Tetzchner, co-founder, Opera Software. “The mobile web is critical in the region, where mobile phone penetration is substantially higher than PC penetration. The widespread availability of mobile phones means the mobile web can reach tens of millions more than the wired web. I’m honored Opera Mini has a part to play, as the mobile web begins reshaping the economic, political and social development of the continent.”
Social networking site Facebook is the top ranked site in six of the top 12 listed African countries, while Google takes pole position in the remaining six countries. The most popular cellphone brand utilised in Africa is Nokia, followed by Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG.
