Kenyans ditch international SMS for online messaging- KNBS

Kenya has witnessed a shift in SMS usage trends in 2024, with domestic text messaging showing a modest rise while international messaging saw a notable decline. This is according to data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Tuesday.

The Economic Survey 2025 reveals that domestic SMS traffic rose by 4.4 per cent, from 52.4 billion messages in 2023 to 54.7 billion in 2024.

In contrast, international SMS traffic continued its downward trend, with messages received from abroad dropping by 12.6 per cent to 32.4 million, compared to 37.1 million in 2023.

Overall, total SMS sent in Kenya increased to 54.7 billion in 2024, up from 52.4 billion in the previous year.

However, international SMS sent declined to 14.4 million, marking a steady fall from previous years: 36,000 in 2020, 28,000 in 2021, 20,000 in 2022, and 15,900 in 2023.

Industry experts suggest this shift reflects changing consumer preferences, as more users turn to internet-based messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and dating apps.

These apps offer not only free messaging but also rich features like voice and video calls, file sharing, and end-to-end encryption, making them more attractive than traditional SMS, while sometimes keeping data end-to-end encrypted and private.

The growing affordability and availability of smartphones, coupled with increased internet penetration across Kenya, may also be driving the migration away from conventional messaging services.

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