Worlddata.info
Symbol image: cell tower

Mobile communications and Internet in the Republic of the Congo

Compared to the United States, the Republic of the Congo is massively lagging behind in the development of telecommunications. Under the country code +242, there were a total of 5.67 million connections in 2021. Among them were 5.65 million mobile phones, which corresponds to an average of 0.97 per person. In the US, this figure is 1.1 mobile phones per person.

With about 45 webhosts, the Republic of the Congo is below the world's average by population.


Back to overview: Congo

Internet speed for cell phones and fixed network

With an average download speed of 41.87 Mbit/second for fixed-network broadband internet, the Republic of the Congo ranks 99th in an international comparison. The upload rate of only 12.74 Mbit/second was significantly lower (115th place).

The Speedtest Global Index published regularly by Ookla is based on several million individual measurements in April 2023 from 180 countries.

Mobile phone rates in the Republic of the Congo

Every year, the International Telecommunication Union calculates for many countries what a mobile phone contract costs to use. A monthly budget averaging US$ 22.90 was calculated the Republic of the Congo in 2021. Compared to the previous year, this amount decreased by 20 cents.

The ITU refers to the costs for monthly use and includes 140 telephony minutes, 70 text messages and a data transfer of 2 GBytes. The transfer speed should be the minimum of a 3G connection, i.e. at least UMTS, which is already outdated in many parts of the world. 2 GBytes do not sound much. However, this is already quite a high consumption in a worldwide comparison. If one does not take a fixed amount in US dollars, but converts it to the economic output per inhabitant, a user in the Republic of the Congo spends 15.60% of his gross national income on mobile telephony. Worldwide, this rate is around 6.6 percent.

In the USA, the monthly cost was around $38.10.

Lack of network coverage with 5G

A modern 5G network does not yet exist in the Republic of the Congo (as of 2021). The penetration rate of 4G, i.e., mobile communications with at least LTE speed, was recently 85 percent. In other words, 875,370.90 people in the country had to make do with a maximum Internet speed of the outdated UMTS standard (or even less).

The following diagrams show the development of the various telephone and internet connections as a percentage of the country's population. Values above 100 percent mean that, on average, every inhabitant has more than one connection.


Access to the internet in the Republic of the Congo from 1990 - 2019

Broadband internet in the Republic of the Congo 2009 - 2021

Symbol image: cell towerThe Republic of the Congo is lagging behind in the expansion of broadband internet connections. Around 9 percent of all residents have access to the internet. Around 0 percent have their own fast internet connection, which is at least faster than the former ISDN (more than 256 kbit/s). All fixed connections via DSL, cable or satellite were counted here, but not those connected to the internet via mobile communications.

Landlines 1990 - 2020

Mobile phones 1990 - 2021

All international calling codes


Distribution in 2021Congo
Total
Congo
percent
USA
Total
USA
percent
Broadband users15,137.000.26 %125.89 m37.93 %
Mobile cellulars5.65 m96.79 %361.66 m108.97 %

United States of America: TelecommunicationTelecommunication in the United States of AmericaComparison of technological development and communication in the United States of America with the countries of the European Union
Current earthquakes worldwideThe most severe earthquakes in the worldOrigin of earthquakes and list of the most consequential tremors of the last decades
Australia: Public HolidaysPublic holidays in Australia 2023-2027Statutory and inofficial holidays in Australia for 2023 to 2027