Internet access and digital divide: global statistics

By Daniil Filipenco

Internet access and digital divide: global statistics

With an immense impact on populations, organizations and economies, the internet has become an integral part of most people’s lives. The web often provides efficient solutions to enable people to have an easier life and analysts suggest that it can help people to escape poverty but unfortunately, not everyone on the planet has access to it.

People who don’t have access to high-speed internet miss out on important opportunities in training, work, healthcare, and education. They also encounter challenges when it comes to researching and learning new information.

Global internet statistics

According to the latest data, there are 5.44 billion internet users around the globe (around 67% of the total population). One PwC analysis suggests that global internet access would help 7% of people escape absolute poverty and also increase the world economy’s production by US$6.7 trillion.

  • Among all internet users, 67% are men and 61.8% are women and although this is more pronounced in the least developed countries, this inequality is observed in practically every region of the world.
  • In 2023, 81% of people living in cities accessed the internet, as opposed to 50% of people living in rural areas.
  • In high-income nations, 93% of individuals have internet access compared to just 27% in low-income nations.
  • According to Statista, the most active internet users are aged 15 to 24.
  • According to the Global Web Index, most people spend around 6.5 hours a day online.
  •  99% of people in Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have access to the internet.
  • Asia has more internet users than any other region on the globe (nearly 3 billion people). Europe, with almost 750 million internet users, comes in second.

Top 10 countries with the largest number of internet users

China continues to remain at the top of the list in terms of the number of internet users, with India coming second and the United States third.

Top 10 countries with the largest number of internet users, millions, Jan 2023

Source: statista.com

Generally speaking, East Asia has the greatest total number of internet users globally, while North Europe boasts the greatest internet penetration rate, with over 97.4% having internet access (in China this rate stands at 77.5%). In terms of internet penetration, North America comes second with 96.9% while the global average is 67.1%. The lowest rate of internet availability is in Eastern Africa.

Global Internet penetration rate by region, %, 2022

Source: statista.com

Despite the current lower internet penetration rate in African countries, this is changing. In 2022, there were about 570 million internet users, which is over twice as many as there were in 2015. Most internet users are in Nigeria – 163 million, while the highest internet penetration rate is in Morocco – 91%.

Internet connectivity in Africa has increased due to advances in telecommunications infrastructure and the growing use of mobile devices. Africa is expected to have more than 1.1 billion users by the end of the decade.

Digital divide and ways to address the issue

The internet gap between men and women, as well as between nations and even continents, has been closing over the last decade. However, about one-third of the world’s population, or 2.6 billion people, do not have access to the internet, as reported by the International Telecommunication Union.

Explaining the digital divide

The digital divide refers to the disparity caused by disproportionate access to contemporary telecommunications technology (internet, computers, smartphones) between different demographics and locations.

The term ‘digital divide’ appeared for the first time in the late 20th century when it referred to the disparity between people who could afford a cellphone and those who could not.

Percentage of men and women having Internet access (2023), according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Source: ITU

Five ways to solve the digital divide issue

Simply giving someone a computer or a smartphone is not sufficient to end the digital divide. In order to access the world-wide-web, users will also require the appropriate infrastructure, resources, and training. However, there are ways to close the gap and give marginalized individuals better access to the digital world.

1️⃣ Active collaboration between all stakeholders

The digital divide cannot be closed by one organization. It is important that the public and private sectors, governments, educational institutions, organizations, and communities actively collaborate to keep pace with the rapid advances in technology.

2️⃣ Emphasizing digital education

Digital education requires funding, which may come from businesses and the government. If schools developed their educational programs, even pupils without access to computers at home could benefit from an early introduction to these skill sets at school.

With high rates of digital literacy among their citizens, nations such as the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Estonia, and Finland have shown the value of funding digital literacy initiatives.

3️⃣ Tech experts training

Many firms and economies find it difficult to meet the growing need for personnel in networking, cybersecurity, and software engineering across all areas. 90% of IT leading companies, as estimated by Deloitte, report having difficulty finding and retaining personnel, particularly for highly skilled positions.

The World Economic Forum estimates that the field of cybersecurity is facing a shortage of almost three million individuals. The data also shows that by 2030, boosting progress in education and reskilling could increase global GDP by US$8.3 trillion.

4️⃣ Expanding the internet network and access

All users should have a fair and affordable connection to the internet which would lead to more people being able to take advantage of business and educational opportunities.

For instance, The Alliance for Affordable Internet seeks to lower broadband internet costs, especially in certain global regions.

5️⃣ Improved digital literacy

Increasing digital literacy rates is essential to closing the digital divide. For instance, an individual who is proficient in using search engines has a higher chance of landing a research-based job than a person who is not very good at it.

Users who lack basic computer or internet navigation skills will not be able to benefit from these technologies to the same extent as their tech-savvy peers.