Africa’s mobile web explosion

State of the Mobile Web Report World Cup Edition explores mobile web trends in Africa, crowns the first Mobile Web World Cup champion, and explores the top sports sites on the mobile Web

Oslo, Norway — July 28, 2010

Mobile web use is exploding in Africa, according to Opera’s State of the Mobile Web Report, published today. Triple-digit growth rates are routine in the region where page views in the top 12 countries in Africa increased by 182% year-over-year, unique users increased by 124%, and the amount of data transferred increased by 160%.

Opera’s State of the Mobile Web Report, published monthly, provides information on the top global trends affecting the mobile Web. The full report is available from http://www.opera.com/smw/ (English only). This month’s report includes a geographic spotlight on Africa, and also highlights the top sports sites on the mobile Web.

Global trends

In June 2010, Opera Mini had over 59.4 million users, a 3.2% decrease from May 2010 but an increase of 124.7% since June 2009. The slight decrease in key metrics can be traced to certain countries where we have experienced some technical and political challenges that now are about to be solved.
Opera Mini users viewed over 27.3 billion pages in June 2010. Since May, page views have gone down 3.4%. Since June 2009, page views have increased 161.8%.
In June 2010, Opera Mini users generated over 416 million MB of data for operators worldwide. Since May, the data consumed went down by 4.0%. Data in Opera Mini is compressed up to 90%. If this data were uncompressed, Opera Mini users would have viewed over 3.8 PB of data in June. Since June 2009, data traffic is up 147.1%.
Ukraine, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam all rose one position on the list of top ten countries (number of Opera Mini users), while Nigeria dropped from position 5 to position 9.

Africa trends

In Part 3 of this month’s report, we look at countries in Africa. The top 12 countries using Opera Mini in that region are South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Sudan, Libya, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Namibia, Mozambique and Mauritius.
Some numbers: From June 2009 to June 2010, page views in the top 12 countries in Africa increased by 182%, unique users increased by 124%, and the amount of data transferred increased by 160%.
Growth rates in Africa: Sudan and Ghana lead the top 12 countries of the region in terms of page-view growth (4,645.6% and 916.5%, respectively). Sudan and Ghana also lead the top 12 countries of the region in growth of unique users (1,225.0% and 498.8%, respectively). Kenya leads the top 12 countries of the region in page views per user, with each user browsing 639 pages on average each month.
Facebook, Google and YouTube all do well in Africa. Facebook is the top-ranked site in six of the twelve listed countries, and Google is ranked #1 in the remaining six countries.
Nokia remains the most popular handset brand in Africa, followed by Sony Ericsson, Samsung, and LG.

Chile wins first Mobile Web World Cup

In Part 5 of this month’s report, we held our very own Mobile Web World Cup. Beginning with the 2010 FIFA World Cup knock-out bracket, we compared the page views per user on each game day. After the four elimination rounds, Chile scraped by Argentina to win the first-ever Opera Mini Mobile Web World Cup. The full bracket is available in the report.

What we say

“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.”

State of the Mobile Report archive: http://www.opera.com/smw/archive/

About Opera Software ASA

The worldwide World Wide Web — any device, any platform, any bandwidth, absolutely anywhere in the world. Opera Software was founded in 1994, based on the idea that access to the Web should be a universal right. 220 million people (and counting) use the Opera web browsers for computers, mobile phones, TVs and other connected devices. Opera also delivers tools, distribution, engagement, monetization and market insights to developers, publishers and brands around the world. We are passionate about breaking down barriers, so everyone can share in the power of the Internet. Our vision of one Web for all remains at the heart of what we do, because we believe that participation changes everything. Opera Software ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.