Libya passes 100 per cent mobile penetration rate

Libya surpassed the 100 per cent mobile penetration rate at the end of March 2008 to become the first mainland African nation to reach the mark, according to a report by The Mobile World.

Libya was one of four nations in Middle East and Africa to reach 100 per cent mobile penetration for the first time in Q108.
Image: Luca Galuzzi

Three other markets reached the milestone for the first time in the same quarter – Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Reunion – the latter a small island nation in the Indian Ocean beyond Madagascar.

UAE continues to lead with mobile penetration at 192.5 per cent, followed by Bahrain at 172.2 per cent.

Iran, which is poised to licence a third mobile operator in the next 12 months, reported a penetration rate of 49.6 per cent, powered by MTN Iran’s launch in late 2006.

According to the The Mobile World database, 50 of the 70 markets in the Middle East and Africa region finished Q108 with penetration rates at less than half the population.