Media report out on 14 African countries

Countries included in the survey are South Africa; Mauritius; Namibia; Ghana; Egypt; Cote d'Ivoire; Kenya; Uganda; Nigeria, Tanzania; Zambia; Angola; Botswana and Zimbabwe.

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Most popular media channels

Celia Collins, deputy group MD at SMG, says, "The research is crucial to inform multinational clients how they will be able to obtain a return on their media investment in the various countries they advertise in and that the level of investment is correct. Without this research, we are not able to build and grow the media industry in Africa. The overall findings presented cover an individual country overview, demographic profile and media consumption habits and trends in each country.

"In general, the research shows that radio, TV and outdoor are still the most popular media channels to reach the mass market, while Internet is achieving higher consumption levels than magazines. Mobile is also extremely popular with 118 million mobile phones in use across the continent."

Excluding South Africa, the countries with the highest penetration of cellphones are Kenya with 31 million, Ghana with 26 million and Tanzania with 27 million.

"When looking at the percentage of consumers across the continent that falls into the LSM 8+ brackets, South Africa is at the top of the list with 24% of our population falling within that category followed closely by Kenya at 22% and Ghana at 20%. It was also interesting to see that the countries with the highest percentage of the population below 15 years old came from Uganda at 49%, Zambia with 46% and Tanzania (45%).

"The media consumption results also show that Ghana has the highest number of radio stations at 99 and that Angola and Nigeria boast the highest number of TV stations."

Internet averages at 20%

Internet penetration cross the continent is at an average of 20% across the board, with the top countries being Ghana and Egypt at 40%, Mauritius at 38% and Namibia at 24%. South Africa is only slightly above the continental average with a reported penetration of 22%.

Although data is not available for all countries, the outdoor market has also been measured. The highest penetration of outdoor falls to South Africa at 89%, Mauritius (73%) and Ghana (69%).

The total survey represented 13 countries and 323 million consumers. The research showed that an average of 38% of residents are under the age of 15 and that only 16% of the countries researched, fall into the LSM 8+ brackets.

"Africa is an extremely youthful continent in terms of average population age and by 2020 it will have the largest middle class population in the world. Therefore, there are many opportunities ahead for marketers who are aware of this growing market.

"The PAMRO research is a base for marketers and clients to gauge media consumption habits and demographic profiles of each country to better strategise their marketing campaigns. I'm confident that in time, the research can only go from strength to strength," concludes Collins.