Half of the world’s population now using the Internet

18th January 2019

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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For the first time, more than half the world’s population is using the Internet, marking an important milestone for connecting people to the digital economy.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) estimates that, by the end of 2018, 51.2% of the global population, or 3.9-billion people, were using the Internet.

“The ITU’s global and regional estimates for 2018 are a pointer to the great strides the world is making towards building a more inclusive global information society,” says ITU secretary-general Houlin Zhao.

“We have surpassed the 50:50 milestone for Internet use. This represents an important step. However, far too many people around the world are still waiting to reap the benefits of the digital economy.”

Slow and steady growth in developed countries contributed to the increase in the percentage of the world’s population now using the Internet, growing from 51.3% in 2005 to 80.9% in 2018.

Internet use in developing countries surged from 7.7% in 2005 to 45.3% by the end of 2018, the latest global and regional ITU estimates show.

The strongest growth was reported in Africa, where the percentage of people using the Internet increased from 2.1% in 2005 to 24.4% in 2018.

Despite this, penetration on the continent remains the lowest worldwide at 24%, compared with Europe’s 80%.

However, Europe, along with the Americas, with 69.6% of the population using the Internet, registered the lowest growth rates.

In the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, 71.3% are using the Internet, with 54.7% using the Internet in the Arab States and 47% in the Asia-Pacific region.

“The new 2018 estimates reveal that there continues to be a general upward trend in the access to and use of information and communication technologies,” says ITU telecommunication development bureau director Brahima Sanou.

However, Zhao says more investment from the public and private sectors is needed to support technology and business innovation so that the digital revolution “leaves no one offline”.

“Mobile access to basic telecommunication services is becoming ever more predominant,” he says, noting that, while fixed-telephone subscriptions continue to decline, with a penetration rate of 12.4% in 2018, the number of mobile cellular telephone subscriptions is greater than the global population.

Growth in mobile cellular subscriptions in the last five years was driven by countries in the Asia-Pacific and Africa regions, while growth was limited in the Americas and the CIS region.

D

eclines were observed in Europe and the Arab States, the group adds.

Meanwhile, broadband access continues on a sustained growth trajectory, the ITU says.

Fixed-broadband subscriptions are continually increasing, with more fixed-broadband connections, at 1.1-billion in 2018, than fixed-telephone connections, at 942-million.

“The growth in active mobile broadband subscriptions has been much stronger, with penetration rates increasing from 4 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2007 to 69.3 in 2018.”

The number of active mobile broadband subscriptions have increased from 268-million in 2007 to 5.3-billion in 2018.

Developing countries are registering much faster growth in mobile broadband subscriptions compared with developed countries.

In developing countries, penetration rates reached 61 per 100 inhabitants in 2018, while the least-developed countries reported surging penetration rates from virtually zero in 2007 to 28.4 subscriptions per 100 in 2018.

The strongest growth in mobile broadband subscriptions is in Asia-Pacific, the Arab States and Africa.

“Nearly the entire world population, or 96%, now lives within reach of a mobile cellular network. Further, 90% of the global population can access the Internet through a third-generation or higher speed network,” the ITU outlines.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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