Nearly 3 billion people-37% of the world’s population-have never used the InternetAccording to the United Nations, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, people have been online.
The United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that 96% of the 2.9 billion people who have not visited the Internet live in developing countries.
The agency stated that it is estimated that the number of people online has increased from 4.1 billion in 2019 to 4.9 billion this year, partly due to “increased Covid connectivity.” But even among these Internet users, hundreds of millions of people may rarely go online, use shared devices or face connection speeds that hinder them from using the Internet.
“ITU will work hard to ensure that the building blocks are in place to connect the remaining 2.9 billion. We are determined to ensure that no one is left behind,” said Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General.
In the first year of the Covid crisis, the number of global users increased by more than 10%-the largest annual increase in a decade. ITU cited measures such as lockdowns, school closures and the need to access remote banking services.
But the growth is uneven.Internet access is usually unaffordable In poorer countries – In 46 least developed countries, nearly three-quarters of people have never been online.
Compared with the elderly, women, and people in rural areas, young people, men, and urban residents are more likely to use the Internet, and the gender gap in developing countries is even more pronounced.
ITU added that poverty, illiteracy, limited power supply and lack of digital skills continue to challenge “digital exclusion”.
