South Africa’s flagship co.za Internet domain has from March 2020 to February 2021 experienced net growth of about 73 000 domain names, while renewals were 6,5% higher than the previous 12 months.
The solid performance by co.za takes its current tally to over 1 300 000 registered domain names and it remains – by far – the top and most consistent performer across Africa’s various ccTLDs (country Code Top Level Domains).
That’s the word from the ZA Central Registry NPC (ZACR), the administrator of South Africa’s presence on the worldwide web. ZACR attributes the strong growth to a two-decade ‘always-on’ service record that has provided stability in the domain name space.
In addition, the coronavirus pandemic has spurred the move to digital, while the highly affordable domain name registration and renewals fees levied by ZACR and its growing network of registrar and reseller (RaR) partners has also helped boost .za.
Notable, according to ZACR, was the extraordinary growth over the harder lockdown periods from March to July 2020. Over these five months the total net growth rate in co.za was 213% more when comparing 2020 to 2019.
Although the other .za second level domains grew by higher percentages over 2020 (net.za by 21%, org.za by 8% and web.za by 14%), these percentages are relative because they come from a lower base compared to co.za.
South Africa’s corner of cyberspace includes co.za, web.za, net.za and org.za, as well as three South African cities’ Geographic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) of .joburg, .capetown and .durban. The latter now account for almost 9 000 domain name registrations after just a few years since commercial launch.
ZACR is also charged with administrating and growing the almost 29 000-strong .africa domain, which experienced 22% growth by the close of 2020.
“Amidst the tragedy of 2020, there is hope,” says Lucky Masilela, CEO of ZACR. “Millions of South Africans are able to stay safe at home thanks to digital lifestyles powered by 1,3-million co.za domains. The tremendous growth in co.za domain name registration since the first hard lockdown is creating a more inclusive cyber South Africa and bridging the gap between the connected and the disconnected.”
This is the strongest annual growth in co.za domain name registration since the previous record year of 2015. The co.za second-level domain accounts for just over 95% of all domain name registrations within the .za country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD).
South Africans are increasingly snapping up Internet domains to help them launch businesses, pursue creative and study endeavours, secure their digital identities and generally become much more active online since the pandemic forever changed our lives in early 2020. Domain name registrants have voted with their feet after determining that co.za offers them the perfect blend of affordability, recognition and local control.
Domain name registration by SMMEs (small, medium and micro enterprises), in particular, has picked up significantly since March 2020.