|**Table 3. Infrastructure quality trends**|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||**Region**||||**Income**||
||SSA|SA|<br>MENA|LAC|EAP|LIC|LMC|UMC|
|**Telecommunications**|||||||||
|Internet Traffic<br>2000|97|117|127|171|113|102|74|70|
|_Bitsper secondper internet user(median)_<br>2015|4,370|8,816|27,524|43,394|35,764|4,107|3,424|33,896|
|**Power**|||||||||
|Power losses<br>1990|15.5|19.4|10.2|15.4|10.1|15.5|22.5|9.0|
|_% of output(median)_<br>2014|16.7|17.7|13.8|13.6|6.8|16.9|11.8|8.9|
|**Transport**|||||||||
|Paved roads<br>1990|17|45|54|18|58|17.0|16.5|17.0|
|_Share of paved roads(%)_<br>2010|16|53|79|24|71|18.0|10|*|
|WEF - Road quality<br>2006|2.41|2.98|4.18|3.06|4.52|2.42|2.22|4.53|
|_Score(0, worst - 7, best)_<br>2015|3.34|3.95|3.97|3.57|4.53|3.31|3.23|4.78|
|WEF - Railroad quality<br>2009|1.93|3.24|3.24|1.53|3.57|1.87|1.97|3.54|
|_Score(0, worst - 7, best)_<br>2015|2.23|3.88|2.99|1.89|4.31|2.14|2.66|3.05|
|_Sources: International Telecommunications Union's World Telecomm_<br>_Forum, Global competitiveness report; International Road Federation_<br>_Note: EAP= East Asia and Pacific; LAC= Latin America and t_<br>_Sub-Saharan Africa; LIC=low-income countries; LMC= lower-mid_|_unication_<br>_, World_<br>_he Carib_<br>_dle incom_|_/ICT indic_<br>_Road statist_<br>_bean; ME_<br>_e countries;_|_ators; World_<br>_ics_<br>_NA= Middl_<br>_UMC= upp_|_Bank, Wor_<br>_e East and_<br>_er-middle in_|_ld Developm_<br>_North Afric_<br>_come countr_|_ent indic_<br>_a; SA=_<br>_ies._|_ators. World_<br>_South Asia; S_|_Economic_<br>_SA=_|

_Electric Power_ . One measure of the quality of the electric power infrastructure sector is captured by the percentage of electric power transmission and distribution losses (as a percentage of electricity output). Table 3 depicts that electric power losses increased in Sub-Saharan Africa over the past quarter century, from 15.5 percent in 1990, to 16.7 percent in 2014, while declining in most other regions. Another measure of the quality of power supply is from WEF; it is a qualitative indicator that fluctuates from a low of 0 to a high of 7. According to this indicator, the perceived quality of power supply in the region dipped from 3.1 to 2.9 between 2006 and 2015. Sub-Saharan Africa registered the lowest scores in quality of power supply in 2015, with a regional median of 2.9, practically the same as for South Asia, which also experienced a decline in quality. Other benchmark regions, such as Latin America and the Caribbean or East Asia and the Pacific, saw an improving trend in quality and scored above 4.5.

Within Sub-Saharan Africa, there is considerable disparity in the evolution over time of power losses across the different income groups. For instance, power losses declined sharply in LMCs, to 11.8 percent of output in 2014, from 22.5 percent in 1990; power losses in UMCs remained almost invariant over the past decade (Table 3). By contrast, power losses slightly increased, from 15.5 percent of output to 16.9 percent during this period among the region’s LICs. Power losses in Sub-Saharan Africa’s LMCs and UMCs are smaller than those in other regions, except for East Asia and the Pacific.

The perception of the quality of power supply in the region is comparable across income groups. This convergence is the outcome of different trends between 2006 and 2015: quality increased slightly among LICs, varying between 2.8 and 2.9; it increased from 2.4 to 3.1 among LMCs; and it declined sharply among UMCs, from about 5 to 2.9.

_Transportation_ . The quality of transport infrastructure is measured by (i) the share of paved roads in total roads, and (ii) the WEF perception scores on the quality of roads and railroads. The results with the objective measures should be taken with caution, as not all road networks in the country are necessarily meant to be _Infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa - 7_