Technology excluding
According to the United Nations, approximately 3 billion
people, or 37% of the world's population - have never used the Internet, despite
the fact that Covid 19 epidemic is driving people online.
The United Nations International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) estimates that 96% of the 2.9 billion people without internet access live
in developing countries.
The agency estimates that the number of people going online increased from 4.1 billion in 2019 to 4.9 billion this year, in part due to "Covid Connectivity Boost". But even among those Internet users, millions of people rarely go online with shared devices or face connection speeds that hinder their Internet use.
In the first year of the Covid crisis, the number of
users worldwide increased by more than 10% - the largest annual increase in a
decade. The International Telecommunication Union has indicated measures
such as closures, school closures, and the need for access to remote banking
services.
But progress is uneven. Internet access is often
unaffordable in poor countries - nearly one-third of the 46 least developed
countries are not online.
As gender differences become more pronounced in
developing countries, young people, men, and urban dwellers use the Internet
more than older adults, women, and those living in rural areas.
The ITU added that poverty, illiteracy, limited access to
electricity, and a lack of digital skills continued to challenge "digital
exclusion".
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