Where Starlink Is Available

raquelasg7
May 3
2 min read

This article is published in collaboration with Statista

by Katharina Buchholz

Starlink satellite internet by Elon Musk's company SpaceX has been deemed critical for the Ukrainian war effort. Experts believe that as of now, there is no satellite internet service that can replace Starlink for this function. However, more so-called satellite constellations, typically consisting of low Earth orbit satellites that can provide fast, stable and low-latency internet, are being launched. Musk vowed earlier in March that he would never disable Starlink in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Starlink also made the news due to regulatory woes in South Africa, Musk's country of birth. Reportedly, South Africa's wide-ranging affirmative action laws have been a hurdle for the company gaining an operating license there. As of March 2025, Starlink had launched official local service in 18 African countries and indicated on its website that it was looking to add more on the continent.

However, African Starlink launches have been pushed back in the past. While some governments around the world might have reservations about Starlink as the resource cannot be as easily controlled and potentially shut off as regular broadband or cellular internet, others have voiced concerns about illegal actors like militias or drug smugglers using it.

In a recent victory for the service, Starlink gained a license in Chad in November, while it had not exactly been welcomed by countries like Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Senegal or Cote D'Ivoire. Some countries have, however, also made a turnaround on the company, for example Mali and Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, the service seems to be moving towards implementation in countries like Jordan, Papua New Guinea, Suriname, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the latter country's new government explicitly speaking out against internet shutdowns.

Listed as pending regulatory approval on Starlink's website were the countries Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. For one country that tightly controls its internet, China, Starlink did not list an intention to launch service. The same was true for Russia, Belarus, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea.

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