A report released by “Top VPN,” a specialized internet research organization, reveals that Sudan ranks first in the Arab world and Africa, and third globally, in terms of economic losses resulting from internet service interruptions in 2024.
The report estimates that Sudan has incurred losses of approximately $1.2 billion due to service disruptions affecting 23.4 million individuals for over 12,700 hours. This significant figure highlights the profound impact on the local economy, digital services, and social communication amidst ongoing political and security tensions in the country.
Additionally, the report states that the total global economic losses attributed to government actions to cut internet access reached around $7.7 billion in 2024, marking a 15.4% decrease from 2023, which experienced losses of $9.1 billion.
Pakistan and Myanmar topped the global list, while other Arab nations such as Iraq, Algeria, Yemen, Mauritania, and Syria were also among those heavily impacted by digital disruptions.
Sudan’s Economic Losses in Numbers
Sudan accounted for nearly 85% of the total losses experienced by African countries, which reached $1.5 billion in 2024, and approximately 20% of the global losses estimated at $7.7 billion.
The telecommunications sector in Sudan, like many others, has been severely affected by the ongoing conflict, leading to significant damages that have been exacerbated by its connections to other heavily impacted areas, such as electrical networks.
Furthermore, millions of consumers have been displaced or migrated, with more than 70% of the population in various cities suffering from power outages, limiting their ability to charge devices and consequently reducing their internet access hours.
Estimates suggest that direct losses in infrastructure range between $180 billion and $200 billion, while indirect losses exceed $500 billion, which is about 13 times Sudan’s average annual gross domestic product of approximately $36 billion. Since the conflict escalated in mid-April 2023, the telecommunications sector has lost more than half of its consumers, originally estimated at over 30 million individuals.