Internet Access in South Sudan: 1800 to Today (and Tomorrow)

To understand the digital landscape of South Sudan is to look across three centuries of human existence where the vast majority of time passed entirely disconnected from global networks. Every value recorded here tells a statistical fact about the lives actually lived there, tracking how populations engaged with information, communication, and modernity. The numbers reveal a quiet baseline stretching across generations, reflecting profound shifts in how communities experience the wider world over time.

For generation after generation, spanning the 1800s estimate 0, 1810s estimate 0, 1820s estimate 0, 1830s estimate 0, 1840s estimate 0, 1850s estimate 0, 1860s estimate 0, 1870s estimate 0, 1880s estimate 0, 1890s estimate 0, 1900s estimate 0, 1910s estimate 0, 1920s estimate 0, 1930s estimate 0, 1940s estimate 0, 1950s 0, 1960s 0, 1970s 0, and 1980s 0, internet access remained completely absent. A very gradual emergence began with 1990s 0.25 and 2000s 0.5, before expanding more notably in the 2010s 14.75. In the 2020s, internet access in South Sudan stands at 29 % — ranking #148 of 157 countries. In 1900 it was 0 %. Projections look forward through the 2030s projection 32, 2040s projection 35, 2050s projection 38, 2060s projection 41, 2070s projection 44, 2080s projection 47, 2090s projection 50, and 2100s projection 53.

If you were born during the long eras when connectivity registered at zero, your daily reality was shaped entirely by local surroundings, oral traditions, and physical distance from global data streams. Today, entering adulthood means navigating a digital sphere that reaches nearly a third of the population, bridging local experiences with international networks. As infrastructure continues its slow projected ascent toward future decades, the fundamental rhythm of daily life transforms alongside it. Where do YOU rank among everyone ever born? →