According to the Africa Telecom 50 Report 2024 by REVENUE Magazine, as of 2024, Ethiopia has emerged as the largest telecom market in East Africa, with 87 million mobile subscriptions—accounting for approximately 28% of the region’s total of 314,988,917 subscriptions.
Tanzania follows with 81 million subscriptions, while Kenya holds third place with 72 million. These three nations represent 76% of the East African mobile subscription market.
The report highlights Ethio Telecom’s dominance as the region’s largest operator. With 81 million subscriptions, it surpasses competitors such as Safaricom Kenya and Vodacom Tanzania, which have 47 million and 25 million subscriptions, respectively. Other notable markets include Uganda and Rwanda, which have 37 million and 14 million subscribers, respectively.
Despite leading in total subscriptions, Ethiopia faces challenges with teledensity, which measures the number of active phone lines per person. With a population of approximately 132 million, its teledensity stands at 66%, placing it seventh in the region. Comparatively, countries like Seychelles, Kenya, and Tanzania have higher teledensities, indicating that Ethiopia has considerable room for progress.
Historically, the Ethiopian government held a monopoly in the telecom industry, allowing foreign competition only in August 2022, when Safaricom Kenya was allowed to enter the market. Ethio Telecom maintains a dominant market share of 93%. To achieve teledensity levels similar to Tanzania and Kenya, Ethiopia must add approximately 68 million and 81 million subscriptions, respectively.
