Internet traffic is not only growing in Africa but is increasingly becoming localized, albeit, slowly. With South Africa leading the trail, more international content providers like Facebook, Google etc are bringing content closer to the end-users by peering directly with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on the African continent.
Southern
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NAPAfrica Johannesburg is notable for carrying the highest volume of IP traffic as well as the highest number of peering ASNs. With about 430 public ASNs, it is currently among the top 10 IXPs in the world.
The community-owned and driven Johannesburg Internet Exchange is notable for being the oldest active IXP in Africa and is holding its own in terms of membership and traffic.
West
In West Africa, Internet eXchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN Lagos), is by far the largest, in terms of membership and traffic. Considering Nigeria’s population, this isn’t much of a surprise and one can venture to say it has a lot of room for growth as more residents of Nigeria get online.
East
Kenya Internet Exchange Point – Nairobi (KIXP) only reflects the reality that Nairobi is the economic and tech engine room of East Africa, by its being the biggest IXP in that subregion.
North
Northern Africa has had much fortune in terms of IXPs. Not only are the number of IXPs in that region disproportionately low relative their population, but the volume of local traffic exchanged is also painfully low. This may be attributed to their geographic proximity to Europe, thus relying on European providers for content hosting.
IXPs
| IXP | Country | City | Members | Traffic (Gbps) | Launched |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola-IXP (ANG-IXP) | Angola | Luanda | 9 | 1.6 | 2006 |
| Angonix (Angonix) | Angola | Luanda | 24 | 18 | 2015 |
| Benin IX (BENIN-IX) | Benin | Cotonou | 6 | 55.4 | 2013 |
| Botswana Internet Exchange (BIXP) | Botswana | Gaborone | 14 | 1 | 2005 |
| Burkina Faso Internet Exchange Point (BFIX) | Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | 12 | 4.48 | 2015 |
| Burundi National Internet Exchange Point (BDIXP) | Burundi | Bujumbura | 8 | 0.01 | 2017 |
| Cote d’Ivoire Internet Exchange Point (CIVIX) | Cote d’Ivoire | Abidjan | 8 | 0.42 | 2013 |
| Kinshasa Internet eXchange point (KINIX) | Democratic Republic of Congo | Kinshasa | 9 | 17.02 | 2012 |
| Djibouti Internet Exchange (DjIX) | Djibouti | Djibouti | 11 | 2.44 | 2016 |
| Cairo IX (CAIX) | Egypt | Cairo | 6 | 5.18 | 2002 |
| Gabon Internet Exchange Point (GAB-IX) | Gabon | Libreville | 10 | 16.88 | 2014 |
| Serekunda Internet Exchange Point (SIXP) | Gambia | Serekunda | 7 | 0.5 | 2014 |
| Ghana Internet Exchange Association (GIXA) | Ghana | Accra | 26 | 52 | 2005 |
| Le Point d’Echange Internet de la Guinée (IXP-GUINEE) | Guinee | Conakry | 7 | 0.14 | 2020 |
| Kenya Internet Exchange Point – Mombasa (KIXP – MSA) | Kenya | Mombasa | 8 | 0.01 | 2014 |
| Kenya Internet Exchange Point – Nairobi (KIXP) | Kenya | Nairobi | 58 | 17.99 | 2002 |
| Lesotho Internet Exchange Point (LIXP) | Lesotho | Maseru | 0 | – | 2011 |
| Liberia Internet Exchange Point (LIXP) | Liberia | Monrovia | 4 | – | 2015 |
| Madagascar Global Internet eXchange (MGIX) | Madagascar | Antananarivo | 9 | 2016 | |
| Malawi Internet Exchange (MIX) | Malawi | Blantyre | 6 | 0.01 | 2008 |
| Mauritius Internet Exchange Point (MIXP) | Mauritius | Ebene | 16 | 0.85 | 2008 |
| Mozambique Internet Exchange (MOZIX) | Mozambique | Maputo | 15 | 1.5 | 2002 |
| Internet eXchange Point Namibia (IXWHK) | Namibia | Windhoek | 13 | 0.59 | 2014 |
| IXPN Abuja | Nigeria | Abuja | 12 | 0.56 | 2011 |
| Internet eXchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN Lagos) | Nigeria | Lagos | 47 | 155 | 2007 |
| IXPN Port Harcourt | Nigeria | Port Harcourt | 4 | 0.04 | 2012 |
| IXPN Kano | Nigeria | Kano | 4 | 0.04 | 2012 |
| Congo Internet Exchange (CGIX) | Republic of Congo | Brazzaville | 7 | 0.01 | 2013 |
| Rwanda Internet Exchange (RINEX) | Rwanda | Kigali | 15 | 1.7 | 2004 |
| Senegal Internet Exchange (SENIX) | Senegal | Dakar | 8 | 0.7 | 2017 |
| Somalia Internet Exchange Point (SoIXP) | Somalia | Mogadishu | 6 | 0.02 | 2018 |
| Cape Town Internet Exchange Point (CINX) | South Africa | Cape Town | 58 | 13.1 | 1997 |
| NAPAfrica IX Cape Town (NAPAfrica CT1) | South Africa | Cape Town | 205 | 169.37 | 2012 |
| Durban Internet Exchange Point (DINX) | South Africa | Durban | 69 | 17.9 | 2012 |
| NAPAfrica IX Durban (NAPAfrica DB1) | South Africa | Durban | 97 | 12.8 | 2011 |
| Johannesburg Internet Exchange Point (JINX) | South Africa | Johannesburg | 107 | 54.3 | 1996 |
| NAPAfrica IX Johannesburg (NAPAfrica JB1) | South Africa | Johannesburg | 420 | 1130 | 2012 |
| Sudan Internet Exchange Point (SIXP) | Sudan | Khartoum | 7 | 0.01 | 2011 |
| Arusha Internet Exchange Point (AIXP) | Tanzania | Arusha | 6 | 0.01 | 2006 |
| Tanzania Internet Exchange (TIX) | Tanzania | Dar es Salaam | 42 | 8.01 | 2004 |
| Mwanza Internet Exchange Point (MIXP) | Tanzania | Mwanza | 12 | 0.01 | 2016 |
| Zanzibar Internet Exchange Point (ZIXP) | Tanzania | Zanzibar | 3 | 0.01 | 2018 |
| Togo Internet Exchange Point (TGIX) | Togo | Lome | 6 | 0.1 | 2017 |
| Tunisia IXP Tunis (TunIXP) | Tunisia | Tunis | 5 | – | 2011 |
| Uganda Internet eXchange Point (UIXP) | Uganda | Kampala | 28 | 12.4 | 2001 |
| Zambia Internet Exchange Point (ZIXP) | Zambia | Lusaka | 13 | 0.1 | 2006 |
| Harare Internet Exchange Point (HIXP) | Zimbabwe | Harare | 10 | 0.28 | 2017 |
Af-IX
The African IXP Association (Af-IX) is an association of African Internet eXchange Points. It is a community-driven association serving African Internet exchange points and Internet service providers and the general IP community, including politicians, regulators, and other industry-related sectors. Its membership in Af-IX is free and open to all operators of Internet Exchange Points in Africa.
Internet Society
Internet Society actively supports events, outreach programmes and other activities that promote local peering in Africa. They recently released a report contrasting peering within Kenya and Nigeria respectively, between 2010 and 2020.
