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How much penetration do cell phones have into a lot of these countries? May be a way to tease out a rough population from cell phone use statistics.



What I can tell you from my experience in the Gambia is that there many people have cellphones (not smartphones), but most have 2 or 3 because provider have lower rates when calling to the same provider, so one phone for Qcell, one phone for Africell,... Not sure if it's like that in many other places, there is a lot of tourism on the coast and returning tourists often bring their old phones to give to the locals.


Somalia, is the country I am talking about and cellphone penetration is quite high. Most people might not have smartphones, though. I have been thinking about this too. Using cellphone network data and come up with estimates.


Not sure how it is where OP is, but in many African countries it's common to have multiple SIM cards, to take advantage of in-network calling deals or to compensate for spotty coverage maps.




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