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KNBS: Call and data usage rise as mobile money transactions decline
01st October, 2025 11:54 AM
Caption:Kenyans increase internet use and phone calls as ICT sector grows. VIDEO/K24TV More Kenyans used the internet and made phone calls between April and June 2025, new data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows.
The Quarterly Gross Domestic Product report published on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, revealed that Kenya’s information and communication sector grew by 6.0 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, compared to the 6.7 per cent growth posted in a similar quarter of 2024.
”Activities in the Information and Communication sector grew by 6.0 per cent in the second quarter of 2025 compared to 6.7 per cent growth in the similar quarter of 2024. Total domestic mobile voice traffic increased by 17.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, to 29.2 billion minutes, compared to 24.9 billion minutes in the corresponding quarter of 2024,” the report read in part.
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According to KNBS, the growth to 12.7 per cent is even as domestic mobile voice traffic rose sharply by 17.3 per cent to 29.2 billion minutes, up from 24.9 billion minutes in the same period in 2024.
Additionally, the report indicates that for Kenyans making international calls, their mobile voice traffic also registered strong growth, surging by 24.3 per cent to 367.5 million minutes in the quarter under review.
Mobile data and transactions
Moreover, KNBS says the mobile broadband data consumption continued its upward trajectory, increasing by 38.4 per cent to 620.2 million gigabytes compared to 448.2 million gigabytes in the second quarter of 2024, indicating an expansion in the average data consumption per user.
More importantly, the value of mobile money transactions fell slightly, dipping by 1.4 per cent to Ksh2.08 trillion from Ksh2.11 trillion recorded in the second quarter of 2024.
However, despite the dip, mobile money transactions remain a critical driver of financial transactions in the economy, even as growth shifts towards digital communication services.
Meanwhile, in August 2025, men were found to be using the internet more than women across all age groups, according to the 2023/24 Kenya Household Survey (KHS) by the data bureau.
The disparity was most pronounced among young adults aged 25 to 34 years, where 64 per cent of men use the internet compared to 54.5 per cent of women. This age group recorded the highest overall internet usage in the country at 59.3 per cent.
