According to a new UN report, 2.9 billion people worldwide have never used the internet, and 96% live in developing countries, leaving the world’s poorest far behind.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the estimated number of people online in 2021 increased to 4.9 billion, owing in part to a “COVID connectivity boost.”
This is good news for global development, but according to the ITU, people’s ability to connect remains profoundly unequal – as many hundreds of millions may only go online infrequently, using shared devices, or experiencing connection speeds that impede their internet use.
“While nearly two-thirds of the world’s population is now online, there is still a lot more to be done to get everyone connected to the Internet,” said Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union.
“The ITU will work with all parties to ensure that the foundations for connecting the remaining 2.9 billion people are in place.” We are determined not to leave anyone behind.”
According to the UN agency’s report, the unusually sharp increase in the number of people online suggests that pandemic-related measures contributed to the “COVID connectivity boost.”
Since 2019, an estimated 782 million more people have gone online, a 17% increase due to measures such as lockdowns, school closures, and the need to access services such as remote banking.
According to the document, global users increased by more than 10% in the first year of the COVID crisis, the largest annual increase in a decade. It did, however, point out that growth has been uneven.
Internet access is frequently unaffordable in poorer countries, and nearly three-quarters of people in the 46 least-developed countries have never used the internet.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the ITU, said in Geneva on Wednesday: “The internet divide runs deep between developed and developing countries.” Only one-third of Africa’s population has access to the internet.
“In Europe, the shares are nearly 90%, implying a nearly 60 percentage point difference between the two regions.”
“And there is what UN Secretary-General António Guterres has referred to as a “connectivity Grand Canyon” in his Common Agenda blueprint for the future.
According to the report, younger people, men, and city dwellers are more likely to use the Internet than older adults, women, and those living in rural areas, with the gender gap being more pronounced in developing countries.
Poverty, illiteracy, limited access to electricity, and a lack of digital skills continue to impede “digitally excluded” communities, according to the ITU.