The growth of mobile technologies in South Africa would result in economic growth of $241 per capita for the nation during the ten-year period to 2020, Vodafone Institute fellow Julia Manske said on Tuesday.

A ten-country study by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research, which had found South Africa’s mobile phone adoption rates most similar to that of Europe, showed that the increase in mobile phone subscriptions had contributed 11% to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) between 2010 and 2012.

This growth in the contribution of mobile to GDP was expected to stabilise at 3.6% from 2012 to 2015, and at 2.4% during the five-year period thereafter up to 2020.

South Africa, with a 100% penetration rate and current GDP per capita of $8 070, expected to increase the number of mobile phone subscriptions by 65% to 165 per 100 inhabitants, along with an expected cumulative growth of $241 per capita increase during the ten years to 2020.

For developing countries, mobile technologies collectively contributed 14.4% to GDP between 2000 and 2010.

Meanwhile, during the two-year period between 2010 and 2012, Egypt’s rising mobile subscriptions had resulted in a contribution of 19.6% to its GDP, followed by India at 11.4%.

During the same period, Egypt expected a 55% subscription growth and an $85 per capita increase, while India was forecast to have a 69% subscription increase and a $51 per capita increase.

China, Turkey and Kenya reported that mobile subscription growth during 2010 to 2012 had contributed 9.9%, 1.8%, and 1.5% respectively to each country’s economic growth.

Turkey and China’s 70% and 21% respective growth in mobile subscriptions was expected to push its contributing GDP per capita to $131 and $164 by 2020 respectively, while Kenya’s 4% mobile subscription growth would only contribute a $28 increase to GDP per capita in the next decade.