Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza
Senior Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE has recorded significant milestones in digital connectivity, with mobile phone ownership, internet access and network coverage breaking records, despite the high cost of devices and internet services, which continues to hinder wider adoption, particularly in rural areas.
The findings are contained in the 2025 ICT Access by Households and Use by Individuals Survey, jointly conducted by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) and the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).
The survey, the fourth of its kind after similar assessments in 2010, 2014 and 2020, provides a key benchmark for measuring progress under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and for tracking Zimbabwe’s performance on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) ICT indicators.
According to the report, 96.4 percent of households now have access to a mobile cellular phone, with ownership exceeding 90 percent across all provinces.
Smartphone penetration has also improved significantly, with 75.1 percent of households owning smartphones, although a sharp urban-rural divide remains, with ownership standing at 87.4 percent in urban areas compared to 65.9 percent in rural communities.
Internet connectivity has also expanded, with 75.5 percent of households reporting internet access at home, while 92.5 percent of households now have mobile network coverage on their premises.
The survey found that mobile broadband via handsets remains the dominant means of accessing the internet, accounting for 92.2 percent of household connections.
Despite these gains, digital inclusion remains constrained by affordability challenges.
According to the report, more than half of households without internet access cited the high cost of devices as the biggest barrier, while 36.4 percent said internet services were too expensive.
“Among individuals who do not use the internet, 58.9 percent said they lacked suitable devices, while 27.7 percent attributed their exclusion to inadequate digital skills,” reads part of the report.
Computer ownership also remains relatively low, with only 11.2 percent of households owning a computer, although laptops accounted for more than 84 percent of computers in use.
The survey also highlights the growing influence of emerging technologies, with 31 percent of internet users reporting that they had used artificial intelligence (AI).
Meta AI emerged as the most widely used platform, accounting for 53.7 percent of AI users, followed by ChatGPT at 29.1 percent.
The report shows that education was by far the largest application of AI, with 91.5 percent of users employing the technology for learning purposes, underlining its growing role in improving access to knowledge and digital education.
Social media usage also continued to expand, with WhatsApp maintaining its dominance, accounting for 92.9 percent of internet users. Facebook, TikTok and YouTube followed as the country’s other leading digital platforms.
However, the report notes that digital skills remain a major concern. Only 43.7 percent of individuals possessed basic or above-basic ICT competencies in at least one of the five internationally recognised digital skill areas, while 56,3 percent had no basic digital skills at all.
The report highlighted that to accelerate digital transformation, respondents called for lower data tariffs, affordable smartphones and ICT devices, improved network coverage, particularly in underserved rural areas, expanded community Wi-Fi facilities and greater Government investment in digital infrastructure, schools and rural electrification.
The survey recommended stronger public-private collaboration to make ICT services more affordable, increase broadband infrastructure investment and expand digital literacy programmes to ensure that more Zimbabweans can participate meaningfully in the country’s growing digital economy.
