A downward trend A third of the world still has no internet
The proportion of people around the world who are connected to the internet or have cell phones is growing. However, the UN Telecommunications Organization is not moving fast enough.
30.11.2024, 09:00
dpa
Around 5.5 billion people worldwide have had access to the internet this year, but just under a third of people worldwide are still offline. The proportion of those not connected fell from 35 to 32 percent of the world's population, as reported by the UN Telecommunication Union ITU in Geneva. The development is heading in the right direction, but needs to progress faster.
According to the ITU, 2.6 billion people did not have access to online information this year or were therefore unable to take advantage of educational opportunities, for example. Most of them live in less developed countries. One problem: in some places, connections cost almost a third of the average monthly income.
In industrialized countries, 93 percent of people have access to the Internet, in low-income countries 27 percent, according to ITU estimates. There is also a difference when it comes to cell phones: in affluent countries, 95% of people over the age of ten have a phone, compared to only 56% in low-income countries. In the USA, there are 125 mobile broadband contracts per 100 inhabitants, with which you can access the Internet on the move, compared to 112 in Europe and 52 in Africa.
The difference between women and men
Overall, 70% of men worldwide will use the internet this year (2023: 68%) and 65% of women (63%). Among 15 to 24-year-olds, the figure was 79% last year. In 2005, this figure was less than 20% worldwide. In 2019, slightly more than half of the world's population had online access for the first time.
In all regions of the world, internet usage is lower in rural areas than in cities. In Europe, for example, 93% of city dwellers surf digitally, but only 86% of the rural population.
The ITU is the UN organization that deals with telecommunications and communication technologies. It has 194 member countries. Last year, it slightly overestimated the number of people with internet access and revised it downwards, according to the organization.
