By the start of 2022, the number of Internet users worldwide was already 4.9 billion - which means that almost two-thirds of the world's population is connected to the World Wide Web. In 10 years alone, the number of users has more than doubled.
Staying connected
As the number of Internet users grows so does the amount of traffic. Internet consumption per user has also jumped: thus, in the first quarter of 2022, the figure was 11.781 GB, while in the fourth quarter of 2021, it was 9.885 GB.
According to ranking.kz, mobile internet consumption has skyrocketed in Kazakhstan as well. For instance, data traffic per user on Beeline Kazakhstan's network increased by a third in 2021. Specifically, in the fourth quarter of 2021, the operator reported that the volume of consumed traffic reached 14.1 GB per user - an increase of 28.2% compared to the same period a year earlier. In turn, Kcell's traffic increased by 18.3% to 11.6 GB per user in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020.
It is worth noting that Kazakhstan's figures are noticeably higher than the global average. In terms of countries, Kazakhstan is among the top 15 in terms of mobile Internet traffic consumption. Thus, at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 mobile Internet traffic per user in Kazakhstan amounted to 14.4 GB, which is 46% higher than the average value. It is also higher than in countries like Türkiye (13.6 GB), Singapore (13 GB), Italy (12 GB), Greece (6.2 GB), Belgium (5.4 GB) and many other countries
The high level of Internet traffic in Kazakhstan demonstrates the accessibility of the World Wide Web to citizens, which is one of the key factors in the successful digitalisation of the country's economy. The affordability of mobile Internet tariffs allows Kazakhstani people to work, study or consume entertainment content everywhere. At the same time, in countries with expensive Internet access, users limit themselves, for example, to watching videos, downloading heavy files and other options that consume significant amounts of mobile traffic.
Considering the growing traffic consumption, the already inexpensive mobile Internet services in Kazakhstan continue to fall in price, although, according to international practice, their cost should be increasing. At the end of 2021, the average price per 1 GB of Internet traffic amounted to 110.5 tenge - 9.7% less than the previous year. The prices in the sector have been falling for more than a year - for example, in 2017, the average price per 1 GB was 234.1 tenge.
