South Africa ranked as Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) best-performing country for mobile download speeds in December 2025.
Findings from the Ookla 2025 Speedtest Global Index rank the country 64th globally, placing it among only three SSA countries in the global top-100 list for mobile performance. The other two were Kenya at 80th and Nigeria at 85th.
The analysis of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region found that most countries’ positions on the Speedtest Global Index changed little across 2025. While a small number of markets recorded significant improvements in fixed or mobile download speeds, the most substantial ranking gains were concentrated in Northern Africa, Bahrain, and Oman.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries continued to lead the region, with the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman described as consistent winners across both fixed and mobile performance. Most GCC markets remained in the global top-10 for mobile throughout the year.
Against this regional backdrop, South Africa’s significance in the report is tied to its relative position within SSA. Ookla says the SSA sub-region relies largely on mobile infrastructure, while also facing a huge usage gap between urban and rural areas. Infrastructure reliability in SSA is described as being plagued by electricity shortages, which affects network consistency and performance. Despite these structural challenges, SA remained the consistent leader in SSA for mobile performance and remained in the global top-100 list.
South Africa’s rolling quarter median mobile download speed by the end of the year was 65.7 Mbps. However, the report highlights that South Africa’s global ranking declined during 2025, dropping five places over the course of the year. Nigeria recorded a similar decline, dropping seven places, with a year-end median download speed of 44.14 Mbps. Kenya’s year-end median download speed was 45.37 Mbps.
While South Africa led SSA, the report makes clear that the highest-performing markets across MEA remain concentrated in the Gulf region. The report describes GCC markets as advanced and mature, supported by high spending power, high smartphone penetration levels, and government-led digitalisation mandates. Mobile median download speeds in the GCC ranged widely in Q4 2025, from 165.07 Mbps for Oman to 691.76 Mbps for the UAE. Ookla says upgrades to 5G standalone (5G SA), 5G Advanced, and the use of multi-carrier aggregation can significantly boost throughput.
Outside the Gulf, the report identifies North Africa as a key area of movement in 2025, driven largely by the launch of 5G and continued expansion of fibre networks. Morocco recorded the largest jump on the mobile Index, moving up 22 places to 39th globally after launching 5G late in the year. Algeria improved by 11 places to 78th. Tunisia moved up 11 places overall despite ending the year at 72nd, while Egypt saw only limited gains after launching 5G in June, finishing at 83rd. Ookla attributes Egypt’s limited speed uplift partly to spectrum constraints, with operators using only 20 to 30 MHz bandwidth in the 2.6 GHz band, shared between 4G and 5G.
On fixed broadband, the report highlights several major movers in the region, including Algeria, which recorded the largest jump by moving up 28 places to 109th globally, and Mauritania, which rose 24 places. Bahrain improved by 16 places on fixed performance, a shift the report links to government regulation requiring ISPs to raise minimum fixed broadband speeds from 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps in March 2025, alongside efforts to make faster plans more affordable.
For SSA, fixed broadband performance was described as more diversified than mobile, reflecting progress in fibre deployment and adoption in parts of the region. Côte d’Ivoire was the highest-ranking SSA country on fixed broadband, ranking 103rd globally in December 2025 with a median download speed of 58.17 Mbps. The report reveals that South Africa is the only country in the region where wholesale-only Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) networks are common, a structural detail that distinguishes its fixed broadband market from many peers.
In the report’s G20 comparison, South Africa is grouped with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye as the only MEA members of the G20. In the report’s G20 ranking, Saudi Arabia ranked 9th globally in mobile performance in December 2025, while Türkiye and South Africa placed 13th and 15th respectively. On fixed broadband, Türkiye and South Africa ranked in the bottom quarter of G20 countries at 16th and 18th. This highlights challenges in fixed internet infrastructure and fibre adoption.
Ookla’s findings position South Africa as an SSA leader in mobile network performance, even as the report’s broader story remains focused on Gulf dominance and the sharpest ranking improvements being driven by 5G rollouts and infrastructure modernisation in North Africa and selected Middle Eastern markets.
* Read the Ookla 2025 Speedtest Global Index here.