.ZA domains (including .co.za, web.za, net.za, and org.za) have experienced their strongest annual growth since the previous record year of 2015, according to South Africa’s ZA Central Registry NPC (ZACR).

As the world marks Telecommunication & Information Society Day on 17 May, the domain name administrator said while COVID-19 has also placed the spotlight firmly on global digital inequalities, .ZA has experienced growth.

ZACR added that South Africa’s flagship co.za Internet domain from March 2020 to February 2021 experienced net growth of some 73 000 domain names while renewals were 6.5% higher than the previous 12 months.

“This solid performance by co.za took its current tally to over 1 300 000 registered domain names and it remains the top and most consistent performer across Africa’s various ccTLDs (country Code Top Level Domains),” the administrator stated.

Lucky Masilela, ZACR CEO, said: “South Africans are increasingly registering internet domains to help them launch businesses, pursue creative and study endeavours, secure their digital identities and generally become much more active online since the pandemic forever changed our lives in early 2020.”

Globally, the fourth quarter of 2020 closed with 366.3 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs) worldwide. This is according to Verisign, a global provider of Internet infrastructure and services. Total registrations have grown by 4 million, or 1.1%, from 2019.

A statement published on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) website reads: “The COVID-19 crisis has not only highlighted the critical role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for continued functioning of societies but has also brought to the fore the startling digital inequalities between and within countries…. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgency of accelerating digital transformation and advancing the goals and targets of the Connect 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind.”