How internet use grew across five West African countries

Where internet use rose fastest in this group

Benin climbed from 22.12% in 2020 to 33.98% in 2024, a rise of 11.86 percentage points. Its gain was the largest of the five over that period, though its 2024 level was still the lowest in the comparison. Source 1

Two countries converged around 41%

Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire were just 0.22 percentage points apart in 2024. Nigeria had started 4.13 points below Côte d’Ivoire in 2020. The five-year table shows how much the gap narrowed. Source 1

What counts as internet use

The ITU indicator measures the share of individuals who used the internet. People can connect from places such as home, school or work and through different devices. The figures describe use across the population and can be compared with separate statistics on connection speeds, affordability and subscriptions. Source 1

Why population share matters

The chart puts countries with different population sizes on the same scale. The number of people online depends on the size of the population as well as its usage rate, so audience size is a separate calculation. Source 1

Sources

• International Telecommunication Union internet use series via World Bank WDI
• World Bank data API, selected countries and years