Zimbabwe: Mobile Reigns Supreme As Zimbabweans Ditch the Envelope

Zimbabwe's digital footprint expanded rapidly in the fourth quarter of 2024 as mobile internet usage and voice traffic surged signaling robust growth in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector despite steep declines in traditional postal and courier services.

According to the latest ICT and Postal & Courier Services report released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) mobile internet data usage hit a staggering 97.2 billion megabytes--up 24% from the previous quarter.

This pushed the Mobile Internet and Data Traffic Index to 166.3 its highest point in 2024.

The surge was not limited to data alone, mobile voice traffic recorded an unprecedented 41.7% jump reaching an index of 129.5, while active mobile subscriptions climbed by 3.7% to over 15.6 million users.

These trends reflect an increasing reliance on mobile services for communication, work and commerce across the country.

The ICT Composite Index, which combines mobile, fixed telephony and internet services rose by 17.8% cementing the fourth quarter as the strongest performing period of the year.

In stark contrast, traditional communication services continued to flounder. Postal services plummeted by 39.3% as domestic letter volumes fell to just 125,921--nearly half of what was recorded in the third quarter.

Courier services also declined by 16.3%, dragging down the combined Postal and Courier Services Index by 21.8%.

The report shows a wider shift in Zimbabwe's communication landscape while fixed voice traffic via PSTN declined by 6%, fixed telephone subscriptions showed marginal growth of 1.1%, pointing to a gradual but ongoing erosion of fixed-line relevance.

ZIMSTAT compiled the indices using administrative data from POTRAZ applying the Laspeyres index method with Q1 2024 as the base.

With mobile platforms increasingly becoming the backbone of communication in the country the fourth quarter figures may signal the country's accelerating leap into a fully digital future.

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