ICT contributed 2.7% towards Botswana’s total GDP during Q3 of 2021, up from 2.4% in the second quarter.

This is according to the latest figures from the country’s data authority Statistics Botswana (SB) which indicate that the ICT sector contributed P1, 130.9-million to GDP.

Statistician General Dr Burton Mguni said the increased contribution is attributed to a significant increase in subscription of both fixed and mobile telephones.

Dr Mguni said, “The fixed telephone line subscriptions went up by 1.4 percent in the third quarter of 2021, they rose from 134,498 which were registered in the second quarter of 2021 to 136,356. Mobile cellular telephone subscriptions increased by 2.8 percent in the third quarter of 2021, from 3,911,833 registered in the second quarter of 2021 to 4,023,009 in the third quarter of 2021.”

He added that both pre-paid and post-paid mobile cellular telephone subscriptions increased in Q3 2021.

“Pre-paid mobile cellular telephone subscriptions went up by 2.8 percent from 3,766,580 registered in second quarter of 2021 to 3,873,541 while post-paid mobile cellular telephone subscriptions increased by 2.9 percent in third quarter of 2021, from 145,253 in second quarter of the year 2021 to 149, 468,” said Dr Mguni.

Internet subscriptions also increased, which also bolstered numbers.

“They (internet subscription) went up by 8.1 percent in the third quarter of 2021, from 2,288,041 subscriptions in the second quarter of 2021 to 2, 472, 260,” said Dr Mguni.

Statistics Botswana also noted that mobile internet subscriptions increased, registering an increase of 8.1 percent from 2,197,671 subscriptions in the second quarter of 2021 to 2,374,865 in the third quarter of 2021.

“Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the third quarter of 2021 realised an increase of 14.5 percent in total internet subscriptions, with both mobile internet subscriptions and fixed internet subscriptions registering increases of 13.4 and 46.1 percent respectively,” said Dr Mguni.