Quartercompared withAny of 43 quarters, Q3 2012 to Q1 2026

Voice, SMS and data usage in Zimbabwe

Minutes called, messages sent, data used, and what the data goes on. POTRAZ counted 179 PB of mobile data in the quarter in Q1 2026, 51 quarters of figures in all.

179 PBof mobile data in the quarter

87.3%Econet

12.7%NetOne

4.63bnminutes called inside the country in the quarter

Mobile data used, by network

179 PB of mobile data in the quarter in Q1 2026, up 57.3% on Q1 2025. Econet accounts for 87.3 of every 100.

Mobile data used, by network, every quarter

Q1 2016 to Q1 2026 shown, of 19.

Up 11773% between Q1 2016 and Q1 2026, from 2 PB to 179 PB.Econet is the largest part in Q1 2026, 87 of every 100, followed by NetOne at 13. Econet held 79 of every 100 in Q1 2016.

The Q1 2026 total, part by part

179 PB of mobile data in the quarter

Econet87%
NetOne13%

Out of every 100 in Q1 2026, 87 is Econet.NetOne is next at 13 of every 100.

The figures behind itAll 19 quartersDownload CSV

Quarter	Econet	NetOne	Telecel	All networks
Q1 2026	156,396,117,320	22,786,517,185		179,331,678,361
Q4 2025	130,178,190,528	29,970,269,010	179,817,043	160,328,276,581
Q3 2025	118,575,397,180	25,291,614,903	225,377,147	144,092,389,230
Q2 2025	106,986,280,665	22,951,580,485	204,869,723	130,142,730,873
Q1 2025	92,234,138,261	21,559,678,190	226,303,448	114,020,119,899
Q4 2024	76,428,126,608	20,488,882,172	276,849,792	97,193,858,572
Q3 2024	59,709,473,912	18,397,992,390	275,698,679	78,383,164,981
Q2 2024	48,424,288,054	17,049,628,020	273,751,000	65,747,667,074
Q1 2024	43,798,127,501	14,438,527,898	204,683,611	58,441,339,010
Q4 2023	39,181,626,105	7,443,080,321	164,050,164	46,788,756,590
Q3 2023	34,985,422,241	9,512,579,282	174,494,454	44,672,495,977
Q2 2023	30,299,361,678	11,733,294,296	25,625,283	42,058,281,257
Q1 2023	25,322,587,980	12,308,896,099	58,893,856	37,690,377,935
Q2 2022	20,929,638,023	4,703,004,198	123,305,100	25,755,947,321
Q1 2022	17,366,747,262	4,417,666,610	267,624,775	22,052,038,647
Q4 2019	4,546,281,803	1,538,752,832	394,487,243	6,479,521,878
Q3 2019	6,736,198,380	2,545,045,828	403,236,170	9,684,480,378
Q2 2016	1,454,008,244	249,182,965	154,753,049	1,857,944,258
Q1 2016	1,195,746,882	205,452,656	109,220,054	1,510,419,592

National voice minutes

4.63bn minutes called inside the country in the quarter in Q1 2026, up 10.7% on Q1 2025.

National voice minutes, every quarter

Q3 2015 to Q1 2026 shown, of 43.

Up 267% between Q3 2015 and Q1 2026, from 1.26bn to 4.63bn.It was highest in Q4 2025 at 5.05bn and lowest in Q1 2017 at 768.67m. That is up from 4.18bn in Q1 2025.

The figures behind itAll 43 quartersDownload CSV

Quarter	National minutes
Q1 2026	4,630,460,792
Q4 2025	5,053,604,833
Q3 2025	4,633,414,516
Q2 2025	4,198,902,827
Q1 2025	4,181,316,173
Q4 2024	3,964,331,921
Q3 2024	2,788,600,662
Q2 2024	3,014,321,229
Q1 2024	3,050,669,447
Q4 2023	3,086,383,762
Q3 2023	3,257,931,870
Q2 2023	2,499,539,641
Q1 2023	2,492,843,418
Q4 2022	2,971,897,269
Q3 2022	3,050,244,766
Q2 2022	2,314,141,599
Q1 2022	1,737,251,898
Q4 2021	1,775,253,736
Q3 2021	2,078,725,320
Q2 2021	1,737,484,071
Q1 2021	1,527,914,249
Q4 2020	1,472,542,142
Q3 2020	1,525,031,686
Q2 2020	1,282,491,654
Q1 2020	1,289,300,817
Q4 2019	1,351,383,155
Q3 2019	1,445,252,026
Q2 2019	1,337,907,548
Q1 2019	1,337,495,112
Q4 2018	1,397,266,217
Q3 2018	1,203,858,486
Q2 2018	1,148,593,421
Q1 2018	1,040,733,490
Q4 2017	1,054,378,407
Q3 2017	924,714,694
Q2 2017	859,593,966
Q1 2017	768,669,233
Q4 2016	843,897,116
Q3 2016	923,465,449
Q2 2016	970,768,056
Q1 2016	1,007,325,863
Q4 2015	1,189,942,667
Q3 2015	1,262,513,445

Messages sent within a network

2.20bn messages sent within one network in the quarter in Q1 2026, down 7.9% on Q4 2025.

Messages sent within a network, every quarter

Q3 2016 to Q1 2026 shown, of 10.

Up 69% between Q3 2016 and Q1 2026, from 1.30bn to 2.20bn.It was highest in Q3 2025 at 2.47bn and lowest in Q2 2017 at 952.86m.

The figures behind itAll 10 quartersDownload CSV

Quarter	Messages
Q1 2026	2,197,199,957
Q4 2025	2,386,612,026
Q3 2025	2,468,734,226
Q2 2022	1,779,907,945
Q1 2022	1,722,133,893
Q4 2021	1,978,736,427
Q3 2017	1,759,538,439
Q2 2017	952,855,464
Q4 2016	1,238,372,951
Q3 2016	1,296,719,026

What the data goes on

179 PB of data counted by app in Q1 2026, up 11.9% on Q4 2025. WhatsApp accounts for 20.5 of every 100.

What the data goes on, every quarter

Q4 2025 to Q1 2026 shown, of 2.

Up 12% between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, from 160 PB to 179 PB.WhatsApp is the largest part in Q1 2026, 20 of every 100, followed by YouTube at 8.6 and Facebook at 7.1. Other makes up the remaining 64.

The Q1 2026 total, part by part

179 PB of data counted by app

WhatsApp20%
Facebook7.1%
YouTube8.6%
X0.3%
Other64%

Out of every 100 in Q1 2026, 20 is WhatsApp.YouTube is next at 8.6 of every 100, then Facebook at 7.1. Other makes up the remaining 64.

The figures behind itDownload CSV

Quarter	WhatsApp	Facebook	YouTube	X	Other	All apps
Q1 2026	36,755,013,272	12,661,615,813	15,368,214,475	598,337,952	113,948,496,850	179,331,678,361
Q4 2025	33,171,887,008	12,649,650,064	15,282,603,065	647,851,067	98,576,285,378	160,328,276,581

Questions people ask

How much mobile data does Zimbabwe use?

179 PB of mobile data in the quarter in Q1 2026, the most recent quarter POTRAZ has published. That is up 11.9% on the quarter before. Econet is the largest, with 87.3 of every 100.

How many minutes do Zimbabweans spend on mobile calls?

4.63bn minutes called inside the country in the quarter in Q1 2026, the most recent quarter POTRAZ has published. That is down 8.4% on the quarter before.

How many SMS messages are sent in Zimbabwe?

2.20bn messages sent within one network in the quarter in Q1 2026, the most recent quarter POTRAZ has published. That is down 7.9% on the quarter before.

Which app uses the most mobile data in Zimbabwe?

179 PB of data counted by app in Q1 2026, the most recent quarter POTRAZ has published. That is up 11.9% on the quarter before. WhatsApp is the largest, with 20.5 of every 100.

Where do these figures come from?

The quarterly sector performance reports published by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe. Every figure on this page is read out of the report for its own quarter. 55 quarters are held, from Q3 2012 to Q1 2026.

Read from POTRAZ, the sector performance reports, Q3 2012 to Q1 2026. Every source we read

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