The Model Index
World/Africa
AI access, cost and use · Southern Africa · Africa · data read 1 Oct 2026

South Africa

In South Africa, a $20-a-month AI plan costs 19% of the median living standard, 25 times the share it takes in the United States; for 73% of people it is over a tenth of what they live on. Claude, OpenAI's API and Gemini are all officially offered. 78% of people use the internet, and Claude use per working-age person is 0.46 times the world average.

19%of the median living standard for a $20 planAfrica median 38% · United States 0.79%
73%of people for whom the plan is over a tenth of their living standardabout 47 m people
3of 3leading services officially offeredClaude · OpenAI · Gemini
78%of people use the internetworld 74% · 65 m people

The figuresSouth Africa

People65 m
Median living standard$1,231a year per person · consumption
A $20 plan takes19%of that · 25× the US share
For whom it is over a tenth73%of people
Survey2022revalued at 2025 prices
GNI per person$6,270plan is 3.8% of it
Claude use per person0.46×world average = 1
Notable AI models built here0

Officially offered here3 of 3

Run it yourself →
Claude · claude.ai appYes
OpenAI · APIYes
Gemini · web appYes

From each lab's own published list: Anthropic's Claude.ai countries, OpenAI's API countries and Google's Gemini web app countries. Not listed means not officially served; open-weight models can be run anywhere.

Against Africa and the worldregional figures are medians or population-weighted

MeasureSouth AfricaAfricaWorld
A $20 plan ÷ median living standard19%38%9.9%
People for whom it is over a tenth73%96%63%
Plan price ÷ GNI per person3.8%14%2.9%
People using the internet78%40%74%
Claude use per working-age person0.46×0.24×1.00×
Notable AI models built001,256

What it is used forSouth Africa against the world

Report ↗
South Africa
Work 44%
Personal 30%
Coursework 26%
The world
Work 42%
Personal 41%
Coursework 17%
Share of the world's Claude use0.47%0.79% of the world's people
Work44%world 42%
Personal30%world 41%
Coursework26%world 17%
Handed over to the model (automation)51%world 48%

Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026: Claude.ai conversations by country. One product from one lab, so read it as a signal of who is using frontier models, not a census.

What people make with itshare of conversations

Document or report18%
Explanation or answer15%
Advice or recommendation8%
App or website5%

The most common things people in South Africa ask Claude to produce.

NeighboursSouthern Africa · lightest burden first

CountryPeopleOnline$20 plan ÷ median living standardOver a tenthClaude use per personOfficial lists
South Africa65 m78%19%73%0.46×3 of 3
Namibia3.1 m65%22%76%0.44×3 of 3
Botswana2.6 m57%24%79%0.52×3 of 3
Lesotho2.4 m52%44%96%not reported3 of 3
Eswatini1.3 m63%no estimate–not reported3 of 3
All countries →

The foundationsSouth Africa against the world

World Bank ↗
People using the internet
78%world 74%
People with electricity
90%world 92%
Mobile subscriptions per 100 people
179world 112
Fixed broadband lines per 100 people
5.3world 20.1
Enrolled in university-level education
23%world 44%
Research spending, share of GDP
0.61%world 2.6%
Researchers per million people
444world 1,652
Secure internet servers per million people
16,658world 16,381

The latest World Bank figure for each measure. The tick marks the world figure.

A $20-a-month plan ($240 a year, US list price) against the median household living standard per person in each country. The median is from the latest national household survey (World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform), revalued from 2021 purchasing-power dollars into US dollars at recent prices and official exchange rates, assuming real living standards have not changed since the survey. Some surveys measure income and others consumption, which includes food people grow and housing they own, so this is a living standard, not cash to spare. Countries with no survey since 2015 or no defensible exchange rate are left blank.

World Bank household surveys ↗Anthropic countries ↗OpenAI countries ↗Gemini countries ↗Anthropic Economic Index ↗Epoch AI notable models ↗