Digital 2023: Sudan
This page contains all the latest data, insights, and trends you need to help you understand how people in Sudan use digital devices and services in 2023.
If you want to check whether this is our most up-to-date report on Sudan, or if you’re looking for data on digital trends and behaviours in Sudan for previous years, you can find our full collection of reports on Sudan by clicking here.
You’ll also find the complete Digital 2023 report on Sudan in the “full report” section below, but let’s start by taking a look at the key numbers for Sudan this year.
The state of digital in Sudan in 2023
Here are the essential headlines for digital adoption and use in Sudan in early 2023:
There were 13.49 million internet users in Sudan at the start of 2023, when internet penetration stood at 28.4 percent.
A total of 32.59 million cellular mobile connections were active in Sudan in early 2023, with this figure equivalent to 68.6 percent of the total population.
These headline stats offer a great overview of the “state of digital” in Sudan, but in order to make sense of how digital trends and behaviours are evolving, we need to dig deeper into the data.
Let’s take a closer look at what the latest numbers tell us, starting with some valuable context relating to Sudan’s population.
Sudan’s population in 2023
Sudan’s total population was 47.49 million in January 2023.
Data shows that Sudan’s population increased by 1.2 million (+2.6 percent) between 2022 and 2023.
50.0 percent of Sudan’s population is female, while 50.0 percent of the population is male.
At the start of 2023, 36.2 percent of Sudan’s population lived in urban centres, while 63.8 percent lived in rural areas.
Note: gender data are currently only available for “female” and “male”.
Sudan’s population by age
The median age of Sudan’s population is 18.5.
Here’s how Sudan’s total population breaks down by age group:
15.2 percent is between the ages of 0 and 4.
20.9 percent is between the ages of 5 and 12.
10.9 percent is between the ages of 13 and 17.
12.9 percent is between the ages of 18 and 24.
15.0 percent is between the ages of 25 and 34.
11.0 percent is between the ages of 35 and 44.
6.3 percent is between the ages of 45 and 54.
4.2 percent is between the ages of 55 and 64.
3.5 percent is aged 65 and above.
Note: percentages may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
Internet use in Sudan in 2023
There were 13.49 million internet users in Sudan in January 2023.
Sudan’s internet penetration rate stood at 28.4 percent of the total population at the start of 2023.
Kepios analysis indicates that internet users in Sudan increased by 348 thousand (+2.6 percent) between 2022 and 2023.
For perspective, these user figures reveal that 34.00 million people in Sudan did not use the internet at the start of 2023, suggesting that 71.6 percent of the population remained offline at the beginning of the year.
However, complexities associated with the collection and analysis of internet user data mean that it can often take several months before research is ready for publication. As a result, the latest published figures for internet use invariably under-represent reality, and actual adoption and growth may be higher than the figures shown here suggest. Please see our comprehensive notes on data for further details.
Dig deeper: for the latest insights into internet adoption and use around the world, follow our regular Global Statshot reports.
Internet connection speeds in Sudan in 2023
Data published by Ookla indicate that internet users in Sudan could have expected the following internet connection speeds at the start of 2023:
Median mobile internet connection speed via cellular networks: 13.38 Mbps.
Median fixed internet connection speed: 5.04 Mbps.
Ookla’s data reveals that the median mobile internet connection speed in Sudan increased by 4.76 Mbps (+55.2 percent) in the twelve months to the start of 2023.
Meanwhile, Ookla’s data shows that fixed internet connection speeds in Sudan increased by 1.45 Mbps (+40.4 percent) during the same period.
Mobile connections in Sudan in 2023
Data from GSMA Intelligence shows that there were 32.59 million cellular mobile connections in Sudan at the start of 2023.
However, note that many people around the world make use of more than one mobile connection – for example, they might have one connection for personal use, and another one for work – so it’s not unusual for mobile connection figures to significantly exceed figures for total population.
GSMA Intelligence’s numbers indicate that mobile connections in Sudan were equivalent to 68.6 percent of the total population in January 2023.
The number of mobile connections in Sudan decreased by 764 thousand (-2.3 percent) between 2022 and 2023.
Additional resources
Just before we get to the full report, here are some suggestions for further reading, which will provide additional context for our full set of Digital 2023 numbers for Sudan:
Read our complete Digital 2023 Global Overview Report to get a comprehensive overview of the “state of digital” around the world in 2023.
Click here to see all of the Global Digital Reports we’ve published on Sudan over the past decade.
Explore all of our reports on countries in Northern Africa by clicking here.
Visit our complete online reports library to find all of the (free!) reports in the Global Digital Reports series.
If you’d like to receive updates when we publish new reports, click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Full report
You’ll find our complete Digital 2023: Sudan report in the embed below (click here if you can’t see that, or if you can’t change the slides).