Do African tourism leaders really have a competitive advantage in terms of very high mobile broadband? Morocco has just had an exceptional year in terms of tourism. A few days ago, the Minister of Tourism Fatim-Zahra Ammor celebrated a “historic milestone» for the Kingdom, which has become Africa’s leading tourist destination with 17.4 million visitors in 2024, an increase of 20% compared to the previous year. As pointed out by the Minister of Tourism, Crafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, «this exceptional achievement firmly establishes Morocco as Africa’s leading tourist destination“. A performance to be placed in the context of Ookla’s latest Speedtest ranking on mobile speeds around the world.
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Ookla, the world leader in internet connectivity intelligence since 2006, publishes this benchmark list every month. It draws on millions of consumer tests conducted with the Speedtest application to evaluate the real-world performance of mobile and fixed networks in more than 200 countries.
In December 2024, Morocco is in 2nd place in Africa with a median mobile download speed of 45.67 mega bits per second (Mbps), behind South Africa (49.81 Mbps) but ahead of Kenya (28. 85 Mbps).
The continental Top 10 at the end of December 2024
According to the latest figures published in December 2024, the Kingdom rose to second continental place with a median speed of 45.67 Mbps, ahead of countries like Kenya (3rd in Africa and 85th in the world with 28.85 Mbps). ). Only South Africa, 1st in Africa and 61st in the world, does better with 49.81 Mbps, but the gap is gradually narrowing, testifying to Morocco’s constant efforts to modernize its telecommunications infrastructure. Globally, this feat allows the country to move up one place to 64th place.
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This African mobile broadband ranking also sees Tunisia (4th in Africa and 90th in the world with 27.12 Mbps), Egypt (5th in Africa and 92nd in the world with 24.20 Mbps) and Algeria ( 6th in Africa and 95th in the world with 23.09 Mbps) confirm their good performance. Tanzania (22.83 Mbps), Nigeria (18.67 Mbps), Libya (16.83 Mbps) and Mozambique (12.23 Mbps) bring up the rear of this continental Top 10.
This Moroccan breakthrough demonstrates the authorities’ commitment to developing an infrastructure that guarantees attractiveness for foreign investors, but also for tourists and an improvement in the digital daily life of citizens.
Notable performance gaps
If the top ten countries in Africa proudly boast decent, even excellent, 4G speeds for the gold and silver medals, significant performance gaps remain. With a difference of 37.58 Mbps between the first, South Africa, and the last, Mozambique, the contrast is striking.
It must be said that these differences reflect the different levels of investment and deployment of 4G networks by operators but also government strategies in this area. Morocco and other countries have relied heavily on 4G to make it a lever for economic and social development. Let us also underline the impact of the deployment of the emerging 5G: it is starting to boost performance for the pioneering countries but remains a marginal factor at this stage.
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If no African country appears in the global Top 50 for mobile download speed in December 2024, Morocco records the largest increase in download speed with +0.49 Mbps compared to November 2024. Nigeria (-0. 24 Mbps) and Algeria (-0.33 Mbps), on the other hand, declined.
What about transfer speed and network latency
What else do the latest Ookla Speedtest Global Index figures tell us about Upload performance (speed of data transfer from the device to the network) and Latency (network response time)?
In the African ranking for Upload performance in December 2024, Morocco once again ranks second with 12.72 Mbps, behind Tunisia (14.09 Mbps) but ahead of Kenya (9.57 Mbps). An honorable result, but which hides worrying disparities with other major tourist destinations on the continent.
The first place is occupied by South Africa, which displays an Upload performance of only 9.17 Mbps. Although this is the best African score, it remains well below the global average of 11.82 Mbps for the same period. This generalized weakness in upload speeds in Africa could pose problems for activities essential to digital tourism, such as sharing multimedia content in real time or quality videoconferencing.
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For latency, a key indicator of the responsiveness of a network, Morocco recorded a performance of 25 milliseconds (ms), which ranks it 2nd in Africa behind Tunisia (22 ms) but ahead of Algeria and Tanzania (28 ms). A correct result, but which contrasts with the performances of South Africa (23 ms) and Egypt (30 ms), two very touristy countries as well.
Figures which demonstrate that despite the progress made, Morocco still faces major challenges in terms of network infrastructure to support its tourism ambition. High Latency can significantly degrade the customer experience, particularly for uses such as video streaming or online gaming, which are very popular with tourists.
South Africa’s median speeds as of December 2024.. DR.
What about hotels in the era of digital nomadism?
Beyond the raw numbers, it is the overall quality of experience that now counts. With the rise of digital nomadism and new consumption patterns, the challenge is to ensure quality, very high-speed mobile connectivity for the most demanding uses such as 4K video or streaming games.
However, in this area, record flow rates are not always enough. Morocco, although 2nd in Africa, only displays 12.72 Mbps in upload and 25 ms of mobile latency. Enough to limit performance for data transfers, videoconferencing or online gaming which are very sensitive to network reactivity.
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«This is where the battle for attractiveness is being played out in the era of very high-speed tourism.», warns another study just published by Ookla, based on data from Speedtest Intelligence. The study, which assessed Wi-Fi performance in 22 top-rated five-star hotels and resorts in the Middle East and North Africa region, identified those with the best performance and highlighted regional trends in digital connectivity.
The analysis classifies hotel Wi-Fi performance into three categories. The best performers include hotels with median download speeds above 100 Mbps, capable of supporting multiple 4K streams, ultra-fast downloads and latency-free video conferencing. Four Seasons in Riyadh, Raffles the Palm and Jumeirah Mina Al Salam, both in Dubai, topped the list with median download speeds of 154.75 Mbps, 122.82 Mbps and 121.35 Mbps, respectively.
The second group includes hotels with median download speeds between 50 and 100 Mbps. Notable establishments in this group include Rixos Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt (93.70 Mbps), Burj Al Arab (85.39 Mbps) and Royal Atlantis (78.59 Mbps) in Dubai, Mamounia in Marrakech ( 55.33 Mbps), or the Kempinsky hotel in Muscat (65.36 Mbps), the Fairmont in Doha (50.17 Mbps).
Underperforming properties include hotels and resorts with median download speeds below 50 Mbps. More than 45% of the establishments examined belong to this category, which includes the Four Seasons Resort Marrakech (19.21 Mbps), Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh (18.46 Mbps), the Ritz-Carlton Doha (29.38 Mbps). ), the Rixos in Dubai (29.53 Mbps), the Royal Mansour in Marrakech (46.11 Mbps). “Although sufficient for a single high definition or 4K broadcast, this speed has potential limitations, especially during periods of high usage», Underlines the study.
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The exceptional performance of Wi-Fi networks in luxury hotels in Riyadh and Dubai perfectly illustrates the critical importance of offering ultra-fast internet connectivity to meet the high expectations of today’s travelers. Thus, destinations that manage to combine leading download speeds with excellent quality of multimedia experience will gain a decisive competitive advantage. A battle that Morocco, with its 17.4 million visitors in 2024, would benefit from winning in the future. A major challenge to consolidate its rank as an African tourism leader.
Top 10 African countries in terms of median mobile download speed at the end of December 2024
| Pays | Median mobile download speed (in mega bits per second or Mbps) | Rank in Africa | World Rank | Median transfer rate (in mega bits per second or Mbps) | Network latency (in milliseconds or ms) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 49.81 | 1er | 61st | 9.17 | 23 |
| Morocco | 45.67 | 2nd | 64th | 12.72 | 25 |
| Kenya | 28.85 | 3rd | 85th | 9.57 | 30 |
| Tunisia | 27.12 | 4th | 90th | 14.09 | 22 |
| Egypt | 24.20 | 5th | 92nd | 5.54 | 30 |
| Algeria | 23.09 | 6th | 95th | 10.82 | 28 |
| Tanzania | 22.83 | 7th | 96th | 10.62 | 26 |
| Nigeria | 18.67 | 8th | 103rd | 10.65 | 31 |
| Libya | 16.83 | 9th | 104th | 6.61 | 26 |
| Mozambique | 12.23 | 10th | 108th | 9.54 | 33 |
Source : Ookla.
