South Sudan Communications 2023, CIA World Factbook

total subscriptions: (2018 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2018 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 3.3 million (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 30 (2021 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: following a referendum, oil-rich South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 and became an independent nation; having been deprived of investment for decades, it inherited one of the least developed telecom markets in the world; there was once investment activity among mobile network operators who sought to expand their networks in some areas of the country; operators in the telecom sector placed themselves in survival mode and are hoping for a political settlement and a return to some degree of social stability; South Sudan has one of the lowest mobile penetration rates in Africa; growth in the sector in coming years is premised on a resolution to the political crisis and a recovery of the country’s economy; the virtually untapped internet and broadband market also depends to a large extent on the country gaining access to international fiber cables and on a national backbone network being in place; sophisticated infrastructure solutions are needed to reach the 80% of the population that live outside of the main urban centers; some improvement has followed from the cable link in February 2020 which connects Juba directly to the company’s submarine landing station at Mombasa; the cable was South Sudan’s first direct international fiber link, and has helped drive down the price of retail internet services for residential and business customers; a second cable linking to the border with Kenya was completed in December 2021 (2022)

domestic: fixed-line less than 1 per 100 subscriptions, mobile-cellular is 30 per 100 persons (2021)

international: country code - 211 (2017)

Broadcast media

a single TV channel and a radio station are controlled by the government; several community and commercial FM stations are operational, mostly sponsored by outside aid donors; some foreign radio broadcasts are available

(2019)

Internet country code

.ss

Internet users

total: 869,000 (2021 est.)

percent of population: 7.9% (2021 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 200 (2019 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2019 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding South Sudan on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of South Sudan 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about South Sudan 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.