According to recent data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized body for information and communication technology (ICT), an estimated 37 per cent of the world’s population – or 2.9 billion people – have never used the Internet.
The report also reveals a robust global increase in Internet use, with an estimated number of people who have used the Internet surging to 4.9 billion in 2021, up from an estimated 4.1 billion in 2019. The above mentioned is fantastic news for the world’s development.
An estimated 96 per cent of the 2.9 billion people who are still offline live in developing countries. Even among the 4.9 billion people classified as “Internet users,” hundreds of millions may only have access to the Internet on rare occasions, via shared devices, or at speeds that severely limit the usefulness of their connection.
“While over two-thirds of the world’s population is now online, there is still a lot more work to be done to get everyone connected to the Internet,” stated ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. ITU will work with all parties to ensure that the building blocks for connecting the remaining 2.9 billion people are in place. We are adamant about ensuring that no one is left behind.”
The unusually rapid increase in the number of people online suggests that measures taken during the pandemic, such as widespread lockdowns and school closures, combined with people’s need for news, government services, health updates, e-commerce, and online banking, contributed to a ‘COVID connectivity boost,’ which has brought an estimated 782 million additional people online since 2019, a 17 per cent increase.
