According to a report published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Mauritius is once again in first place in terms of information and communication technologies (ICT) and telecoms. Internationally, the island also remains in 73rd place among 175 countries.
Among 46 African countries rated, Mauritius is first, followed by the Seychelles, which now replaces South Africa in 86th place. More clearly, South Africa is in 88th place.
Ranking of African countries
(out of 46 countries rated)
| Africa | 2016 | 2015 | |
| 1 | Maurice | 73 | 73 |
| 2 | Seychelles | 86 | 88 |
| 3 | South Africa | 88 | 86 |
| 4 | Tunisia | 95 | 95 |
| 5 | Morocco | 96 | 98 |
| 6 | Cape Verde | 97 | 99 |
| 7 | Egypt | 100 | 97 |
| 8 | Algeria | 103 | 112 |
| 9 | Botswana | 108 | 109 |
| 10 | Ghana | 112 | 111 |
| 11 | Namibia | 120 | 121 |
| 12 | Gabon | 124 | 126 |
| 13 | Kenya | 129 | 129 |
| 14 | Ivory Coast | 132 | 139 |
| 15 | Zimbabwe | 133 | 132 |
| 16 | Lesotho | 134 | 138 |
| 17 | Swaziland | 136 | 136 |
| 18 | Nigeria | 137 | 137 |
| 19 | Sudan | 139 | 134 |
| 20 | Senegal | 141 | 140 |
| 21 | Gambia | 143 | 141 |
| 22 | Zambia | 147 | 148 |
| 23 | Cameroon | 148 | 146 |
| 24 | Mali | 149 | 149 |
| 25 | Rwanda | 150 | 158 |
| 26 | Mauritania | 151 | 154 |
| 27 | Angola | 154 | 152 |
| 28 | Liberia | 156 | 161 |
| 29 | Uganda | 157 | 155 |
| 30 | Benin | 158 | 156 |
| 31 | Togo | 159 | 159 |
| 32 | Equatorial Guinea | 160 | 157 |
| 33 | Djibouti | 161 | 160 |
| 34 | Burkina Faso | 162 | 163 |
| 35 | Mozambique | 163 | 164 |
| 36 | Guinea | 165 | 166 |
| 37 | Madagascar | 166 | 165 |
| 38 | Tanzania | 167 | 167 |
| 39 | Malawi | 168 | 168 |
| 40 | Ethiopia | 169 | 172 |
| 41 | DR Congo | 170 | 169 |
| 42 | Burundi | 171 | 173 |
| 43 | Southern Sudan | 172 | 170 |
| 44 | Guinea-Bissau | 173 | 171 |
| 45 | Chad | 174 | 175 |
| 46 | Niger | 175 | 174 |
According to the report, Chad and Niger, which were ranked last, need to deploy more resources to improve their populations’ access to telecoms and hope to wake up to the digital economy.
In order to assess the overall level of ICT and telecom development in the 175 countries included in the study, 11 indicator pillars were established by ITU. These indicators make it possible to analyse the level of access to and use of ICTs and telecoms and the ICT skills in each country. An average of 10 points is then used to score each country.
Even if Mauritius is first in the ranking at the African level, much remains to be done. By remaining in 73rd place for two consecutive years, Mauritius has shown that it has not progressed in ICT and telecoms. Nevertheless, there remains one positive element, the island’s performance remains stable.
Source: Agence Ecofin
