Côte d’Ivoire has achieved remarkable advancements in its digital economy, as highlighted 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% increase.
This notable rise underscores the positive impact of sustained infrastructure investments and widespread market adoption. It aligns seamlessly with the strategic directives of the National Development Plan (PND) and the National Digital Development Strategy, both of which prioritize economic digitalization and the modernization of telecommunications infrastructure as key drivers of growth.
On the African continent, Côte d’Ivoire firmly establishes its position among the digital elite: with its score of 72 points, the country ranks 15th in Africa, comfortably surpassing the continental average of 59 points.
To fully grasp the reasons behind this strong performance, it is crucial to examine the two fundamental pillars that form the basis of the ITU’s evaluation framework. The first component, the ‘Universal Connectivity’ pillar, assesses 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 records a score of 64.9 points, substantially higher than the African average benchmark of 38.1 points.
The second component, the ‘Meaningful Connectivity’ pillar, measures operational factors such as mobile network coverage, fixed and mobile data traffic per subscription, device ownership, and tariff affordability. Côte d’Ivoire excels here with a robust score of 79 points, outperforming the regional African average set at 65 points.
Extensive mobile broadband network coverage stands as one of the nation’s primary strengths, with 3G and 4G/LTE networks reaching 98% and 90% of the population, respectively. Furthermore, retail prices for mobile data and voice bundles remain exceptionally competitive, representing only 1.8% of the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, translating to an affordability index of 95.8 out of 100. Fixed broadband package prices are also accessible, at 4.8% of GNI per capita, yielding an affordability index of 87 points.
Regarding market penetration, 73.1% of individuals own a mobile phone, while 70.8% actively use the internet. Additionally, 58.7% of households have internet access at home, and the number of active mobile broadband subscriptions has reached 84.1 per 100 inhabitants.
Despite these significant achievements, certain specific performance indicators suggest opportunities for further capital allocation and intensified usage. High-speed mobile data consumption stands at 32.7 gigabytes per subscription, resulting in a traffic score of 51.5 points. Similarly, fixed high-speed traffic averages 893.9 gigabytes per subscription, giving a normalized score of 73.7 points. These figures indicate that while basic coverage and access are firmly established, deeper digital consumption and high-bandwidth usage still present substantial growth potential.
In 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.