LivdareSIM

The continent where coverage claims deserve the most scrutiny

eSIM for Africa

Africa is not one connectivity market and treating it as one is how travellers end up disappointed. A regional plan that lists forty countries is telling you about commercial agreements, not about whether you will have signal where you are going.

The demand we measure is concentrated rather than spread. Morocco and Egypt account for an enormous share of it, driven mostly by European travellers, and the French and Spanish markets in particular.

All 19 destinations in Africa

Egypt+20
Morocco+212
Tunisia+216
South Africa+27
Kenya+254
Tanzania+255
Zanzibar+255
Nigeria+234
Ghana+233
Cape Verde+238
Mauritius+230
Seychelles+248
Senegal+221
Ethiopia+251
Uganda+256
Rwanda+250
Namibia+264
Botswana+267
Algeria+213

North Africa is the part most visitors mean

Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia carry most of the visitor traffic on this continent and have the networks to match. Coverage in the cities, the resort strips and along the main tourist routes is solid.

None of these countries are in any European roaming agreement, which is exactly why the demand exists. A French or Spanish plan stops working the moment the ferry docks or the plane lands.

Southern and East Africa

South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania have competent urban networks and well developed mobile data markets, in some respects ahead of Europe. Safari areas and the national parks are a different matter and should be planned as offline.

Local prepaid in these markets is inexpensive and widely available, so the trade off is the familiar one: price and a local number against arriving already connected.

Read the country list, not the continent name

A plan sold as covering Africa will have wildly different real world performance in Marrakesh and in rural Zambia. The honest way to buy here is to check the specific countries on your itinerary rather than the headline.

We would rather tell you that a country is thinly served than sell you a regional plan that implies otherwise.

How to decide

For Morocco, Egypt or Tunisia alone, a country plan is the clean answer and the coverage will hold up.

For a multi country trip, check that every country you care about is genuinely covered rather than merely listed, and plan the remote legs as offline regardless.

Where are you going?

Destinations

Common questions

Why is Morocco so heavily searched?

Because it is close to Europe, heavily visited, and outside every European roaming agreement. French and Spanish travellers generate a large share of that demand.

Will I have signal on safari?

Often not, and that is the network rather than the product. Plan those days offline and treat coverage in the parks as a bonus.

Is local prepaid a good option in Africa?

In Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa it is cheap and easy. The trade off is registration and the time it takes on arrival.

Does a continent wide plan actually work everywhere?

It works where there are agreements, which is not the same as everywhere. Check your specific countries rather than the headline.