South Africa Lags Behind with Internet Access

A new study indicates Internet penetration in South Africa - Africa's strongest economy - is low compared to other leading economies on the continent.

A new study looks at why. South Africa is the economic powerhouse on the African continent. Yet, Internet penetration here is not as high as it should be, because of the high cost of broadband and a lack of infrastructure. With a population of around 50-million people, the country had just 8.5 million active Internet users in 2011. That is up from 6.8 million in the previous year. The growth - mainly attributed to smartphones - brings Internet penetration in South Africa to approximately 17 percent, according to a study commissioned by Google South Africa. It was carried out by Arthur Goldstuck, from World Wide Worx.