Morocco's mobile network now outpaces every other country in Africa, more than double South Africa's average speed, according to new 2026 data. But does a fast national average mean anything if entire regions still sit offline?
Africa's internet map keeps shifting as governments and telecom operators race to lay fibre, expand 5G, and drive down data costs. Speed alone does not tell the whole story though, since a fast national average can hide slow, patchy coverage once you leave the capital. This list draws on Ookla's Speedtest Global Index and separate fixed broadband data to rank the ten countries currently leading the continent on speed, latency, and network consistency.
10. Rwanda
Rwanda earns its place through consistency and affordability rather than top line speed. After liberalising its broadband sector and issuing more than 100 new fixed broadband licenses in recent years, Rwanda pushed prices below the African average and extended fibre into secondary cities well beyond Kigali, building one of the continent's more evenly distributed networks.
9. Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire does not lead on mobile speed, but it posts the fastest fixed broadband on the continent, at 58.17 Mbps, ahead of every country above it on this list. Heavy investment in fibre backbone and submarine cable landing points along its coast has made Côte d'Ivoire a quiet leader in wired connectivity.
8. Libya
Libya holds the eighth spot with an average mobile speed of 22.3 Mbps, a modest figure but still enough to rank among Africa's top performers. Years of instability have slowed infrastructure investment, yet Libya's networks have held up well enough to keep the country ahead of most of the continent.
7. Egypt
Egypt posts an average mobile speed of 44.1 Mbps, placing it seventh. A large, price sensitive mobile market and steady state backed investment in national fibre infrastructure have kept Egypt's numbers climbing, even as fixed broadband speeds still trail several smaller economies on this list.
6. Kenya
Kenya rounds out the mid table at 45.3 Mbps average mobile speed. Years of investment in mobile money and digital services have pushed telecom operators to keep upgrading network capacity, and Kenya continues to punch above its economic weight in regional connectivity comparisons.
5. Nigeria
Nigeria's average mobile speed of 46.8 Mbps ranks fifth on the continent, reflecting one of Africa's largest and most competitive mobile markets. The picture looks less impressive on fixed broadband, where Nigeria sits 81st globally, exposing how unevenly investment has reached a population of more than 220 million people.
4. Algeria
Algeria comes in fourth at 53.1 Mbps average mobile speed. What sets Algeria apart is reliability rather than raw speed. Its latency of roughly 7 milliseconds matches South Africa's, giving users a fast and stable connection for streaming, gaming, and remote work.
3. Tunisia
Tunisia's mobile networks average 53.5 Mbps, placing the country third. Steady mobile upgrades have pushed speeds ahead even as fixed broadband infrastructure lags. Latency sits around 19 milliseconds, still workable for video calls and streaming, though noticeably higher than the continent's fastest performers.
2. South Africa
South Africa posts an average mobile speed of 65.9 Mbps, the second fastest on the continent. Competition among several large mobile operators, continued 5G expansion in major cities, and low latency near 7 milliseconds give South Africa some of Africa's most dependable day to day performance, not just its fastest headline numbers.
1. Morocco
Morocco holds the fastest average mobile internet speed in Africa, at 124.3 Mbps, more than double the country in second place. An aggressive nationwide 5G rollout, paired with a fibre backbone that now reaches most of the country's mobile towers, has turned Morocco into North Africa's clearest digital frontrunner.
