In 2021, Black South Africans were the largest group in the country accessing the internet via a smartphone. Some 66 percent of Black South Africans used a smartphone to go online, while the white population followed with nearly 20 percent. Indian/Asian individuals, on the other hand, were the population group with the smallest share of internet access via a smartphone. In 2022, Black South Africans were the largest population group in the country, followed by the colored and white populations.
Distribution of internet users using a smartphone to access the internet in South Africa in 2021, by population group
January 18 to May 14, 2021, and July 13 to Semptember 31, 2021
Number of respondents
24,666 respondents living in urban areas with 8,000 or more inhabitants
Age group
15 years and older
Special properties
data was collected in two waves
Supplementary notes
The question was: "How do you access the internet?"
TGI/AskAfrika, annually interviews 24,666 respondents aged 15+ living in urban areas with 8,000 or more inhabitants, using a stratified random probability sample. The data is weighted to the South African national statistics service, "Statistics South Africa's" population estimates, which allow for an accurate representation of 27.76 million South Africans.
To ensure a nationally representative sample, the survey is based on enumerated area (EA) sampling.
Missing percentage points to 100 percent are probably due to rounding.
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Ornico, & World Wide Worx. (June 30, 2022). Distribution of internet users using a smartphone to access the internet in South Africa in 2021, by population group [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 21, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1341192/internet-users-with-smartphone-in-south-africa-by-population-group/
Ornico, und World Wide Worx. "Distribution of internet users using a smartphone to access the internet in South Africa in 2021, by population group ." Chart. June 30, 2022. Statista. Accessed December 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1341192/internet-users-with-smartphone-in-south-africa-by-population-group/
Ornico, World Wide Worx. (2022). Distribution of internet users using a smartphone to access the internet in South Africa in 2021, by population group . Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1341192/internet-users-with-smartphone-in-south-africa-by-population-group/
Ornico, and World Wide Worx. "Distribution of Internet Users Using a Smartphone to Access The Internet in South Africa in 2021, by Population Group ." Statista, Statista Inc., 30 Jun 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1341192/internet-users-with-smartphone-in-south-africa-by-population-group/
Ornico & World Wide Worx, Distribution of internet users using a smartphone to access the internet in South Africa in 2021, by population group Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1341192/internet-users-with-smartphone-in-south-africa-by-population-group/ (last visited December 21, 2024)
Distribution of internet users using a smartphone to access the internet in South Africa in 2021, by population group [Graph], Ornico, & World Wide Worx, June 30, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1341192/internet-users-with-smartphone-in-south-africa-by-population-group/
