Seychelles ranked top on the African continent

Figures released by the Department of Information and Communication Technology, shows that by the end of 2009, there were 110,668 mobile subscriptions, corresponding to 126.77% per 100 inhabitants.

The DITC says this figure is on par with penetration in developed countries.

Mobile penetration in Seychelles has indeed more than doubled in Seychelles since 2005. Internet penetration has also continued to increase but at a much slower pace. To date the number of Internet subscriptions exceeds 7,000.

In its latest publication, “Measuring the Information Society 2010” the International Telecommunication Union, ranked Seychelles the top spot on the African continent in terms of ICT development.

Out of the 159 countries surveyed, Seychelles has been ranked 66, ahead of counties such as South Africa and Mauritius.

Eleven indicators were used in the survey entitled Measuring the Information Society including ICT access, use and skills, and includes such indicators as households with a computer, the number of fixed broadband Internet subscribers, and literacy rates.

Despite its success, Seychelles is still lagging behind other countries in the use of widespread deployment of ICT services, especially broadband Internet infrastructure as a tool for public service, particularly in health, education, employment and social integration.