A Profile of Mobile Phone Users and their Communication Habits in Mozambique

Mozambique remains one of the world’s poorest countries nearly two decades after the end of a debilitating civil war. The country is in dire need of national transportation, electrical and telecommunications infrastructure to support inclusive development. One bright spot, however, is the expansion of mobile communications; the number of mobile phone subscribers in Mozambique is now nearly twice the number of citizens who have access to the electrical grid.

Even though mobile phones are not as prevalent in Mozambique as in other African countries, the number of mobile phone users continues to grow, and users are becoming more receptive to mobile phone-based development communication campaigns (such as SMS-based education and use of phones to engage in issued-based forums).


This analysis provides a demographic profile of Mozambique's regular mobile phone users and outlines their communication habits, based on data from a 2009 media diary survey.

The Mobile Communications Market

Mobile phone penetration in Mozambique is at the low end of the spectrum of African countries, with about 26 subscribers (prepaid and postpaid) per 100 inhabitants. That is roughly equal to neighboring Zimbabwe but less than half that of Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana. Mozambique’s fixed-line teledensity is less than one percent, though previous surveys suggest that the vast majority of residents do not even wish to own a fixed phone line, reflecting the fact that the mobile option is now so much more accessible. [2]

The mobile market growth is poised for acceleration. In June 2010, the Mozambican government launched an international tender for the country’s third mobile service provider, holding out the prospect of heightened competition and an enhanced range of services for consumers, as well as lower service costs. In fact, Mozambique already has comparable if not lower costs for mobile services than many of its southern African neighbors. [3] The lowering of mobile use costs has largely been the result of heavy competition between the country’s two service providers, mCel and Vodacom.

The country’s first operator, mCel, was established in 1997 by the state-owned and operated Telecommunication de Mozambique (TDM). In 2003, mCel was separated from TDM but remained owned and operated by the state. South Africa's Vodacom obtained the second license in 2002. MCel continues to dominate the Mozambican market, but Vodacom’s share has expanded in recent years, with estimates of its market share ranging from as little as 33 percent to as high as 44 percent. [4]

Who are Mozambique’s Mobile Phone Users?

AGE: The data for this analysis indicate that the country's regular mobile phone users are not concentrated in a particular age group. Thirty-six percent are 15 to 24; 29 percent are 25 to 34; and 30 percent are 35 to 50. However, only 5 percent of mobile users are above the age of 50.

EDUCATION: This appears to be a better determining factor than either age or socio-economic status seems to be education, as 88 percent of mobile phone users in our study have completed at least some secondary school coursework. This is well above the national average. Education level is likely a factor insofar as it relates to levels of literacy and the understanding of Portuguese, Mozambique’s official language, which is used in formal education.

GENDER: Only 43 percent of mobile users are female. The gender gap widens slightly in rural areas compared to urban areas.

LOCATION: Urbanites were about 64 percent of our sample of mobile phone users, versus 36 percent rural dwellers. There is a socio-economic distinction between rural and urban mobile users. Among rural mobile users, lower income individuals encompass a larger percentage of the group compared to urban mobile users. Forty percent of rural mobile users fit within the D-social grade, whereas only 22 percent of urban users fit into that ESOMAR social grade. This corresponds to the general income trend within Mozambican society, where there is greater wealth accumulation within the country’s urban areas.

This economic distinction between urban and rural areas tells us two things: First, it substantiates the information provided in Table 1 that there is a willingness among Mozambicans of lower income and social class to spend what little disposable income they have on mobile communications. Second, rural mobile phone users, in particular, are more likely to have less disposable income to spend on air time or top-up cards compared to urban users.

This has a potential impact on the likelihood that a rural user would participate in different mobile-based activities promoted by domestic or international development groups, such as SMS-based knowledge games, audio news services or call-in/text-in radio shows.

Chart 1

Projects making use of mobile phone functions, such as SMS-based education initiatives, are often supported by media campaigns mean to inform target audiences about how they take advantage of the project. It is helpful to know that mobile phone users in our study proved to be voracious media consumers, with strong weekly use rates even among rural respondents.

Being able to inform mobile phone users of recent or planned promotions, campaigns or new mobile services can be crucial to the success of a mobile phone-based project. (For more information on popular radio and television stations see the research articles “Mozambique: Understanding the Radio Market” and the Role of Provincial Radio Stations.

Mobile Phone Access and Use

In many countries in Africa, mobile phones are not only a personal communication device but a familial or community communication tool. The social habit of sharing mobile phones has made it difficult for research groups to quantify mobile phone access and use in many countries, especially with regard to frequency of use among those who do not have personal access to a phone.

Among our regular mobile phone users, 83 percent said they have their own mobile phone for personal use, suggesting that regular use is somewhat dependent on having personal access. Individuals who rely on a family member, friend or neighbor for access may not have consistent access to a mobile phone.

It is common for people in many developing countries to own or use more than one SIM card or mobile phone in order to take advantage of the lowest rates for whatever phone function they wish to use. In fact, among the regular users profiled here, about 65 percent said they having more than one mobile phone.

Mozambican mobile phone users have also shown themselves to be rather astute consumers. The most popular tariff is per second charges. As in many countries, both mobile service providers in Mozambique offer pre-paid tariffs that charge per second or per minute. Among mCel subscribers in our case study, some 69 percent said they use per second tariffs, versus 57 percent of Vodacom subscribers. Among the subscribers of both service providers, those within the lower social grades (C2 and D) were more likely to use per second tariff charges, see Chart 2.

Chart 2

This is another key example of how the Mozambican mobile market is expanding towards the “bottom of the pyramid” and has the potential to strengthen further as the country continues to progress economically.

Chart 3

Call-in radio shows represent one of the more lively aspects of the growth of media in Africa. With limited fixed-line telephone services, it is through mobile phones that Mozambicans can call or SMS text to these shows from wherever they are. The state-owned and operated radio station Radio Mozambique broadcasts a number of phone-in show that provide citizens a forum to be heard or a chance to engage with public officials. Community radio stations often also have discussion programs during which specific community-related issues are debated openly.

Of the weekly mobile phone users profiled here, about a quarter of them said they have called in to either a radio or TV show within the past month. Twenty-five percent said they have sent an SMS to a show in the past month. These regular mobile users are not necessarily frequent interlocutors on these programs though; only 12 percent stated they either sent an SMS or call-in on a weekly basis.

SMS promotions are a staple among mobile service providers to spur sales of top-up cards or to convince people to purchase new SIM cards. Development organizations are now also using SMS promotions through knowledge-based games or contests in an attempt to educate mobile users in a range of development topics like disease prevention or treatment. Although only about 13 percent of the regular mobile users said they had participated in an SMS promotion in the past week, about third said they had in the past month.

Even though in Mozambique mobile phones have not become the ubiquitous communication tool that they have in other African countries, the number of users continues to grow year after year. Our data show that, even though less than a third of Mozambicans are mobile subscribers, a mobile phone is not purely a device of the most educated or affluent. With the introduction of lower cost mobile handsets and per second tariff charges the ability to communicate with others regardless of location has become obtainable by almost anyone.

[1] The survey respondents featured in this case study as “mobile phone users” are individuals who reported sending or receiving an SMS-text message in the past week and made a phone call in the past week within their media diary.

[2] Gillwald, Alison and Christoph Stork. "Towards Evidence-based ICT Policy and Regulation: ICT access and usage in Africa". ResearchICTAfrica! VOLUME ONE 2008 Policy Paper Two

[3] Mabila, Francisco. 2006. “Towards an Africa E-Index: SME E-Access and Usage across 14 African countries- Mozambique”. Research ICT Africa! Johannesburg, South Africa.

[4] “Vodacom Group Limited Annual Report 2009”. Vodacom.com.  http://www.vodacom.com/reports/ar_2009/bus_international.php.

Photo Courtesy of Sugu via Flickr.