Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2021

A new report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), reveals strong global growth in Internet use, with the estimated number of people who have used the Internet surging to 4.9 billion in 2021, from an estimated 4.1 billion in 2019. This comes as good news for global development. However, ITU data confirms that the ability to connect remains profoundly unequal. An estimated 37 percent of the world's population – or 2.9 billion people – have still never used the Internet. Of those 2.9 billion, an estimated 96 percent live in developing countries. And even among the 4.9 billion counted as 'Internet users', many hundreds of millions may only get the chance to go online infrequently, via shared devices, or using connectivity speeds that markedly limit the usefulness of their connection. ITU figures point to a glaring gap between digital network availability versus actual connection. While 95 percent of people in the world could theoretically access a 3G or 4G mobile broadband network, billions of them do not connect. The report explores the digital divide amongst multiple demographics as well as economic barriers to broadband access.


Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2021