The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the lives of many people to shift to the online realm. Even so, the latest data from one of the United Nations agencies found 37% of the world's population or nearly three billion people never use the internet.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that 96% of the 2.9 billion people who have never accessed the internet live in developing countries.
The number of internet users in the world has indeed increased from 4.1 billion in 2019 to 4.9 billion this year. The ITU said this increase was also driven by the 'COVID connectivity boost'.
But, among these billions of internet users, there are still hundreds of millions of people who are rarely online, have to share devices with others, or experience slow internet speeds that limit their internet usage.
"The ITU will work to ensure the foundations are in place to connect the remaining 2.9 billion. We are determined to make sure nothing is left behind," said ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao, as quoted by AFP on Sunday (5/12/2021).
The number of global internet users increased by more than 10% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ITU, this increase was influenced by several things including lockdowns, school closures, and the need to access services such as mobile banking.
But the growth is uneven. Nearly three-quarters of people who have never accessed the internet live in 46 least developed countries where the internet is expensive.
In addition, there is still a gap between internet access in urban and rural areas. 76% of internet users worldwide live in urban areas, while 39% are in rural areas.
Gender and age gaps were also found. Young people and men are more likely to use the internet, than older people and women.
The ITU says the billions of people who are not yet accessible to the internet also face challenges such as poverty, limited electricity and a lack of digital literacy.