A common misconception amongst marketers is around the ages, race, and income level of people using the Internet in South Africa. We take an objective look at who is using the Internet.

More than one-third of us are Internet users. Use is spread evenly through age-groups. Two-thirds of users of the Internet are black.  Almost two-thirds are in households with under R12k per month income.  Within each race group, just over one-fifth of black and coloured people are Internet users. For white people, more than two-thirds are Internet users.  Within age-groups, almost two-thirds of 25-34’s are Internet users, whereas less than one-fifth of 50+’s are Internet users.

Of all Internet users, 50% are accessing using their mobile phone (smartphone or feature phone) and 10% are accessing using their tablet.  Half of white people access using their mobile phone or tablet, while two-thirds of black people access using their tablet.  Two-thirds of 15-24’s access using their tablet or mobile phone, while just under half of the 50+’s access using their mobile phone or tablet.   About two-thirds of the lowest household income group access via their mobile phone or tablet, while half of the highest income group access via their mobile phone or tablet.

While, sadly, there is a disparity between income groups, race-groups, and age-groups, it is clear that a large portion of South Africans are using the Internet and increasingly more are using the Internet via their mobile phones