Côte d’Ivoire has achieved remarkable progress in its digital economy landscape, as revealed by the 2026 edition of the ICT Development Index (IDI) published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Over the past year, the nation significantly expanded its digital footprint, boosting its national score from 69.5 points in 2025 to an impressive 72 points in 2026, marking an approximate 4% advancement.
This upward trajectory underscores the profound impact of sustained investments in crucial infrastructure and widespread market adoption. It aligns seamlessly with the strategic directives of the National Development Plan (PND) and the National Digital Development Strategy, which have prioritized the digitalization of the economy and the modernization of telecommunications infrastructure as core pillars for robust growth.
On the African continent, Côte d’Ivoire firmly establishes itself among the digital elite. With its score of 72 points, the country now ranks 15th in Africa, substantially surpassing the continental average, which stands at 59 points.
To fully grasp the drivers behind this strong performance, it’s essential to examine the two foundational pillars underpinning the ITU’s assessment framework. The first component, the ‘Universal Connectivity’ pillar, evaluates basic digital adoption, including household internet access, individual internet usage, and the number of active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. In this dimension, Côte d’Ivoire registers a commendable score of 64.9 points, well above the African average benchmark of 38.1 points.
The second component, the ‘Meaningful Connectivity’ pillar, assesses operational factors such as mobile network coverage, fixed and mobile data traffic per subscription, device ownership, and tariff affordability. Here, Côte d’Ivoire achieves a robust score of 79 points, outperforming the regional African average of 65 points.
High-speed mobile network coverage stands out as one of the nation’s key strengths, with 3G and 4G/LTE networks covering 98% and 90% of the population, respectively. Furthermore, retail prices for mobile data and voice packages remain exceptionally attractive, representing only 1.8% of the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, translating to an impressive affordability index of 95.8 out of 100. Fixed broadband package prices are similarly accessible at 4.8% of GNI per capita, yielding an affordability index of 87 points.
In terms of market penetration, 73.1% of individuals own a mobile phone, while 70.8% are active internet users. Moreover, 58.7% of households enjoy home internet access, and the number of active mobile broadband subscriptions has reached 84.1 per 100 inhabitants.
Despite these significant achievements, certain specific performance indicators suggest there’s still room for strategic capital allocation and intensified usage. Mobile broadband data consumption averages 32.7 gigabytes per subscription, resulting in a traffic score of 51.5 points. Similarly, fixed broadband traffic averages 893.9 gigabytes per subscription, yielding a normalized score of 73.7 points. These figures indicate that while fundamental coverage and access are firmly established, deeper digital consumption and high-bandwidth usage still present substantial growth potential for the Côte d’Ivoire digital economy.
Within the regional landscape, Morocco leads the continent with an IDI score of 89.2 points, followed by Mauritius (89.1 points), Algeria (87.8 points), South Africa (86.4 points), and Seychelles (84.4 points). The continental Top 10 is completed by Tunisia (80.1 points), Cape Verde (79.8 points), Egypt (79.6 points), Eswatini (78.9 points), and Botswana (77.7 points). Immediately following this leading group are Gabon (76.2 points), Ghana (75.6 points), Senegal (72.8 points), Namibia (72.2 points), and Côte d’Ivoire (72 points), which rounds out this Top 15 of African digital economies.
