The nearly six-day nationwide internet shutdown after last week’s election cost Tanzania’s economy $238 million, according to an internet monitoring group.
NetBlocks’ Cost of Shutdown Tool draws on data from the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, and Eurostat to quantify the direct economic harm of shutdowns and platform blocks.
The shutdown, and the ongoing suspension of social media platform X, has reignited worries about the use of state-ordered internet blackouts on the continent during elections or unrest. Internet shutdowns across Africa have doubled since 2016, new research showed, with more than 190 recorded in 41 African countries between 2016 and 2024. Rights groups said Tanzania’s internet outage, which began on election day, directly impacted democratic participation. “Authorities made it clear that they wanted to silence dissent and control the narrative,” Felicia Anthonio from the digital rights group Access Now told Context.
African Union observers said the election failed to comply with democratic standards. The bloc’s monitors said they witnessed ballot stuffing, violence, and abductions by government forces.