ITU: 90% of Internet’s unconnected ‘live in developing countries’

A new report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has shown that 90% of the 4.3 billion people not yet using the Internet live in developing countries.

[su_quote cite=”International Telecommunications Union”]”In the world’s 42 Least Connected Countries (LCCs), which are home to 2.5 billion people, access to ICTs remains largely out of reach, particularly for these countries’ large rural populations. Internet use globally is growing at 6.6% globally and at 3.3% in developed countries.” [/su_quote]

ITU, in its 2014 “Measuring the Information Society Report” reveals that though Internet use has continue to grow steadily at 8.7% in developing countries in 2014, a sizeable number estimated at 90 per cent are still offline.

According to the report, the number of Internet users in developing countries has doubled in five years (2009-2014), with two thirds of all people online now living in the developing world.

In the world’s 42 Least Connected Countries (LCCs), which are home to 2.5 billion people, access to ICTs remains largely out of reach, particularly for these countries’ large rural populations. Internet use globally is growing at 6.6% globally and at 3.3% in developed countries.

Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General explains the rationale for the report, which is believed to be widely-recognised as the repository of the world’s most reliable and impartial global data and analysis on the state of global ICT development.

“This important report is a critical part of the global ICT development process. Without measurement we cannot track progress, which is why ITU gathers ICT statistics for 200 economies across over 100 indicators,” he says.