In its latest report, the International Telecommunications Union(ITU), points out that Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest record of internet access. According to the report, Europe has the highest Internet use (82.5 percent), while Africa has the lowest (28.2 percent). ITU data also revealed that globally, Internet use is recording steady growth with 53.6% of the global population (4.1 billion people) using the Internet. Out of the estimated 3.6 billion people who remain offline, the majority of the belong to the Least Developed Countries. it urged that Connecting the 3.6 billion people offline to the power of digital technologies as one of the most urgent development priorities.
The report indicated that the digital gender gap has been narrowing in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Europe. However, in the Arab States, Asia-Pacific and especially in the Africa region, it showed a rising trend. Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary General, said that ITU’s Measuring digital development reports are a powerful tool to better understand connectivity issues, including the growing digital gender divide. The report estimates 57 percent of global households to have internet access. Affordability and lack of digital skills are regarded as the major challenges for the expansion and effective use of the Internet.
Meanwhile another report from The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), revealed that consumers in African countries paid the highest rates in the world for internet access as a proportion of income. The annual Affordability Report based its assessment on a data of 136 low and middle-income countries.
