A UN report stated that by 2022, 75% of the world population over 10 years of age owns a cell phone.

“Mobile phones are the most common gateway to use the Internet, and the percentage of ownership serves as an indicator of network availability and access,” the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said in its annual report on global connectivity.

About three-quarters of the world’s population over the age of 10 own a mobile phone that provides internet access by 2022, although a third of people are still offline, the UN said on Wednesday.

”Mobile phones are the most common gateway to use the Internet, and the percentage of ownership serves as an indicator of the availability and access to the network”indicated the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in its annual report on global connectivity.

The ‘Facts and Figures 2022’ study underlines that owning a mobile phone does not mean having access to the internet, especially in low-income economies, where the cost of broadband services is still too high.

According to data collected by the ITU, 95% of people living in rich countries have a cell phone, while in poor countries this rate drops to 49%.

“digital darkness”

The covid-19 pandemic and its lockdowns forced hundreds of millions of people to work or study online, which triggered connectivity.

Computer internet 1995 (Digital Trends)
But there is still a long way to go, because “too many people continue to live in digital darkness,” stressed Doreen Bogdan-Martin, who at the beginning of 2023 will become the first woman to lead the agency. (Digital Trends)

The report stresses that internet access continues to grow, but less rapidly.

Today, it is estimated that 5.3 billion people, 66% of the world’s population, use the Internet. Almost everyone who is not connected to the network lives in the poorest countries.

The percentage of people who use the internet has not stopped increasing in recent years and has seen a strong “rebound” in 2020, Thierry Geiger, ITU chief economist, told AFP.

But there is still a long way to go, because “too many people continue to live in digital darkness”stressed Doreen Bogdan-Martin, who at the beginning of 2023 will become the first woman to lead the agency.

“Internet access is increasing, but not with the speed and equity across the world that is needed,” he added in a statement about the report.

Fiber optic technology represents 31.8% of the total connections of the fixed internet access service as of September 2022.
Today, it is estimated that 5.3 billion people, 66% of the world’s population, use the Internet. Almost everyone who is not connected to the network lives in the poorest countries. (Source: Osiptel /)

The cost

A benchmark measure of internet access is the average price of mobile broadband services, which are often cheaper than fixed access and allow users to access the internet from a smartphone.

The price decreased from 1.9% to 1.5% of the average gross national income per capita in 2022.

But their cost is still too high for the average consumer in most low-income economies. A basic mobile data plan in these countries costs an average of 9% of average incomethe study highlights.

The percentage is still much higher than the cost of similar services in higher income countries, warns the ITU.

The UN agency calls on all countries to ensure affordable access to broadband, which it defines as a cost of less than 2% of per capita monthly gross national income.

internet broadband router
A benchmark measure of internet access is the average price of mobile broadband services, which are often cheaper than fixed access and allow users to access the internet from a smartphone.

“We have to keep working to make the Internet more and more affordable, even as the global downturn in the economy worsens the prospects for many countries”ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao said in the statement.

Economist Thierry Geiger stresses that while the cost of connectivity continues to fall, rising prices for basic necessities could force many people to go offline.

Internet access is increasingly considered a key service, but “food always prevails,” he recalled.

The numerical gap between rich and poor also includes a gender gap.

Although women make up about half of the world’s population, there are 259 million fewer women than men with Internet access. Only 63% of women have used the Internet in 2022, compared to 69% of men, the report indicates.

(with information from AFP)

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Source-www.infobae.com