When delivering his speech at the 59th Madaraka Day celebrations, President Uhuru Kenyatta spoke about internet and cellular phone penetration and the contribution of mobile money transfer to the economy.
“Our massive investment in ICT has seen internet penetration rise from 31.4% in 2013 to 93.9% in 2022; with cellular phone penetration increasing from 74.9% in 2013 to 131% in the last reporting cycle,” he said.
“Over the same time, mobile money transfers increased from Ksh1.9 trillion to Ksh6.8 trillion,” he added.
The 2015 KNBS Economic Survey shows that the total value of mobile money transfers in 2013 was Ksh1,902 billion which translates to Ksh1.9 trillion.
The increase between 2012 and 2013 is attributed to increased demand for the service due to the considerable growth in number of agents according to statistics drawn from The Sector Statistics Report from The Communication Authority for the financial year 2013/14.
The increase to Ksh6.9 trillion in value of mobile money transfers as mentioned by President Kenyatta is also accurate. The KNBS economic report for the year 2022 states that the value of money transfers grew by 31.7% to stand at Ksh6.9 trillion in 2021.
On cellular phone penetration, data issued at president Kenyatta’s speech is TRUE. The 2015 KNBS Economic Survey, indicates that mobile penetration in 2013 was 74.9%. The 2022 KNBS Economic Survey shows the penetration rate for mobile subscriptions to have increased to 131.88%.
The president further pointed out an increase in internet penetration. From 31.4% (2013) to 93.9% (2022). According to the 2015 KNBS economic survey, internet subscriptions increased by 6.7% to 38.8% in 2014. The difference between 38.8% and the 6.7% increase totals to 31.6% as the penetration for the year 2013.
The 2022 KNBS economic report states that the internet penetration grew from 91.70% in 2020 to 93.33% in 2021. The data on internet penetration is MOSTLY TRUE.
Add comment