Digital transformation drives Côte d’Ivoire’s ICT development
Côte d’Ivoire has marked a significant milestone in its digital journey, recording a 4% increase in its global ICT Development Index (IDI) score according to the latest assessment by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The country’s score rose from 69.5 in 2025 to 72 points in 2026, reflecting substantial progress in digital infrastructure and adoption.
This achievement aligns with the government’s strategic vision outlined in the National Development Plan (PND) and the National Digital Development Strategy. Both frameworks prioritize digital economy growth and telecom infrastructure modernization as key drivers of economic transformation.
African digital landscape: Côte d’Ivoire joins the top tier
With a score of 72 points, Côte d’Ivoire has secured the 15th position on the African continent, outperforming the regional average of 59 points. This ranking underscores the nation’s commitment to building a robust digital ecosystem that supports both businesses and citizens.
Two critical pillars fueling Côte d’Ivoire’s digital success
The ITU’s evaluation framework assesses digital progress through two fundamental components:
- Universal connectivity: This measures foundational digital adoption, including household internet access, individual internet usage, and high-speed mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. Côte d’Ivoire scores 64.9 points here—well above the African average of 38.1 points.
- Meaningful connectivity: This evaluates operational factors such as mobile network coverage, fixed and mobile data traffic per subscription, device ownership, and financial accessibility of services. The country achieves a strong score of 79 points, exceeding the regional average of 65 points.
Strong infrastructure and affordable digital access
Côte d’Ivoire’s digital success is anchored in its extensive infrastructure. High-speed mobile networks (3G and 4G/LTE) now cover 98% and 90% of the population, respectively. The affordability of digital services remains a cornerstone of this progress:
- Mobile data and voice plans cost just 1.8% of the national gross income per capita, earning a financial accessibility index of 95.8 out of 100.
- Fixed broadband plans are similarly priced at 4.8% of gross income, achieving an accessibility index of 87 points.
Consumer engagement reflects this accessibility: 73.1% of individuals own a mobile phone, 70.8% actively use the internet, and 58.7% of households have home internet access. Mobile broadband subscriptions have reached 84.1 per 100 inhabitants.
Opportunities in deepening digital usage
While Côte d’Ivoire excels in foundational connectivity, there remains significant potential for advancing high-bandwidth consumption and intensive digital applications. Current metrics highlight this gap:
- Average mobile broadband data consumption stands at 32.7 gigabytes per subscription, yielding a traffic score of 51.5 points.
- Fixed broadband traffic averages 893.9 gigabytes per subscription, resulting in a normalized score of 73.7 points.
These figures suggest that while connectivity access is well-established, deeper digital engagement and high-data applications still offer room for growth.
Regional digital rankings: Côte d’Ivoire in the African top 15
Côte d’Ivoire’s digital progress places it among Africa’s leading economies in the ICT sector. The continental ranking includes:
- Morocco (89.2 points)
- Mauritius (89.1 points)
- Algeria (87.8 points)
- South Africa (86.4 points)
- Seychelles (84.4 points)
- Tunisia (80.1 points)
- Cabo Verde (79.8 points)
- Egypt (79.6 points)
- Eswatini (78.9 points)
- Botswana (77.7 points)
- Gabon (76.2 points)
- Ghana (75.6 points)
- Senegal (72.8 points)
- Namibia (72.2 points)
- Côte d’Ivoire (72 points)
