For people already connected to the superhighway of information and commerce, it might just be a news story that now half of the world’s population uses the Internet.
But for millions – still not using the Internet of Things – it comes as a source of encouragement that they would also soon be connected via the web and therefore be able to live inclusively with the world and benefit in many spheres of life including science, commerce, education and innovation.
A new report says half of the nearly 8 billion people are using the internet near the end of 2018.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 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,” Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General, says.
As noted by the ITU, the record figure of 3.9 billion people, or 51.2 per cent that will be online by the end of December, is an important milestone in the digital revolution.
But that also means that the other half of the population does not use the Internet.
The strongest rate of growth in the Internet access has been in Africa – up from around two per cent in 2005, to more than 24 per cent of the African population this year.
Europe and the Americas are the regions with the slowest growth rates, though the current figures show that 79.6 per cent and 69.6 per cent are online, respectively, according to the UN agency .
Overall, said the ITU, “in developed countries, slow and steady growth increased the percentage of population using the Internet, from 51.3 per cent in 2005 to 80.9 per cent in 2018.”
Of course, as the connectivity expands, the world will also have to deal with issues like cybersecurity and online fraud.
But those still lagging behind and have not been able to connect face a lot of obstacles to free flow of information, educational and business advancement – tools of sustainable development.
That is particularly true of women and girls.
The statistics show older people also disproportionately remain offline, as do those with disabilities, indigenous populations and some people living in the world’s poorest places, the ITU says.
“We must encourage more investment from the public and private sectors and create a good environment to attract investments, and support technology and business innovation so that the digital revolution leaves no one offline,” Zhao says.
For now, those connected to the Internet have a plenty to choose from the great platform of diversity and globalization. In doing so they should think of ways to help the disconnected and disadvantaged to be active and independent participants in the interconnected world.
The story was updated on Monday afternoon.
