Portland's second How Africa Tweets study analysed geo-located tweets originating from Africa during the final three months of 2013.
Findings:
Johannesburg is the most active city in Africa, with 344,215 geo-located tweets during Q4 2013, followed by Ekurhuleni (264,172) and Cairo (227,509). Durban (163,019) and Alexandria (159,534) make up the remainder of the top five most active cities.
Nairobi is the most active city in East Africa and the sixth most active on the continent, with 123,078 geo-located tweets in Q4 2013
Accra is the most active city in West Africa and the eighth most active on the continent, with 78,575 geo-located tweets in Q4 2013
English, French and Arabic are the most common languages on Twitter in Africa, accounting for 75.5% of the total tweets analysed.
Zulu, Swahili, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Portuguese are the next most commonly tweeted languages in Africa
Tuesdays and Fridays are the most active tweeting days on the continent. Twitter activity rises steadily through the afternoon and evening, with peak volumes around 10pm
The day of Nelson Mandela's death - 5 December - saw the highest volume of geo-located tweets in Africa during Q4 2013
Brands in Africa are becoming increasingly prevalent on Twitter in Africa. Portland tracked major hashtag activity from top brands such as Samsung (#SamsungLove), Adidas (#Adidas) and Magnum ice cream (#MagnumAuction)
Football is the most-discussed topic on Twitter in Africa. During Q4 2013, football was discussed more than any other topic, including the death of Nelson Mandela. The most mentioned football team was Johannesburg's Orlando Pirates (#BlackisBack, #PrayForOrlandPirates, #OperationFillOrlandoStadium)Politically-related hashtags were more limited than other issues, with only four particularly active hashtags tracked during the time period. This included #KenyaAt50 - celebration of Kenya's independence - and the competing #SickAt50
