Does the internet add years to life? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the world's lowest life expectancy, which averages 62.7 years compared to 81.7 years in high-income countries. Internet use in SSA, though rising, remains significantly below global averages. Whether internet use has led to improvements in life expectancy in SSA is still uncertain. This study examined how internet use affected life expectancy across 41 SSA countries from 2000 to 2023. The Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) estimator was employed to address autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, and cross-sectional dependence. Results indicate that a one percentage point increase in internet use is associated with about 0.09 additional years of life expectancy. However, these findings are conditional on other factors. Internet use yields greater health returns when institutional quality is stronger, but exhibits diminishing returns as electricity access improves. Immunization, electricity access, and political stability positively affect life expectancy, while under-five mortality and health expenditure reduce it. This study recommends that governments pair digital connectivity initiatives with governance reforms, electrification, and health system strengthening to maximize population health gains across SSA.