- Business Insider Africa presents the list of African countries where Elon Musk's Starlink is operational in 2025.
- Starlink is present in at least 18 countries in Africa.
- Starlink serves over 2.6 million users worldwide, using a network of around 5,500 satellites that SpaceX started launching in 2019.
By October 2023, Starlink was active in seven countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Malawi, and Zambia. Since then, it’s expanded to at least 18 countries across Africa.
List of African countries where Starlink is operational in 2025
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Last month, Elon Musk’s Starlink went live in Niger after the country’s military government gave it a five-year license to operate.
That made Niger the latest African country to greenlight Starlink, right after its launch in Liberia earlier in January. But the company’s Africa journey kicked off in January 2023, when it first launched in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country.
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Starlink came in with big promises, to boost internet access in Nigeria and eventually roll out across Africa, where only about 40% of the 1.3 billion people are online, the lowest internet penetration rate in the world.
By October 2023, Starlink was active in seven countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Malawi, and Zambia. Since then, it’s expanded to at least 18 countries across Africa.
But things haven’t gone smoothly everywhere. Starlink has been unable to operate in some countries due to issues like regulatory approval.
For example, despite being available in several neighbouring countries, Starlink is still not live in South Africa, Africa’s most developed economy.
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Talks to bring it there have stalled multiple times, even as people look for better internet options.
Right now, Starlink serves over 2.6 million users worldwide, using a network of around 5,500 satellites that SpaceX started launching in 2019.
Below are the African countries where Elon Musk's Starlink is operational in 2025:
| Rank | Country | Launch date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | January, 2023 |
| 2 | Rwanda | February, 2023 |
| 3 | Mozambique | June, 2023 |
| 4 | Kenya | July, 2023 |
| 5 | Malawi | July, 2023 |
| 6 | Benin | November, 2023 |
| 7 | Zambia | November, 2023 |
| 8 | Eswatini | December, 2023 |
| 9 | Sierra Leone | June, 2024 |
| 10 | South Sudan | July, 2024 |
| 11 | Madagascar | July, 2024 |
| 12 | Botswana | August, 2023 |
| 13 | Ghana | August, 2024 |
| 14 | Zimbabwe | September, 2024 |
| 15 | Burundi | September, 2024 |
| 16 | Cape Verde | December, 2024 |
| 17 | Liberia | January, 2025 |
| 18 | Niger | March, 2025 |
