A new research report from the Internet Society, a non-profit that advocates for an open and secure global Internet, has found that South Africa has the most resilient Internet on the continent.

The Internet Society defines a resilient Internet connection as “one that maintains an acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation”.

According to the Internet Society’s Pulse Platform report, South Africa achieved high marks in infrastructure, security, market readiness and performance, all of which are essential for connecting underserved communities and encouraging economic growth and innovation.

South Africa achieved an overall score of 69%, broken down into:

68% in performance — the ability of the network to provide end users with seamless and reliable access to Internet services;
69% in infrastructure — the existence and availability of physical infrastructure that provides Internet connectivity);
69% in security — the ability of the network to resist intentional or unintentional disruptions through the adoption of security technologies and best practices; and
68% in market readiness — the ability of the market to self-regulate and provide affordable prices to end users by maintaining a diverse and competitive market.

“Unfortunately, not all countries have reliable Internet infrastructure,” the report said. “Low-income countries often have under-provisioned networks and lack both robust cable infrastructure and redundant interconnection systems. In these countries or regions, the likelihood of Internet outages occurring is much higher than elsewhere.”

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The island nations of Mauritius (with 66%) and the Seychelles (58%) placed second and third respectively in the Internet Society report. Morocco was fourth (57%) and Tunisia fifth (54%), followed by Botswana (51%), Namibia (50%), Rwanda (49%), Kenya (48%) and Senegal (48%).

At the bottom of the list are Eritrea (24%), the Central African Republic (26%) and South Sudan (28%). Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy by GDP, scored only 41%, placing in the bottom half of African nations.