BREAKING NEWS, Business
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Four million people lack access to the Internet connectivity worldwide with Africa being the worst off region
AFRICA performing is the worst region globally in terms of levels of connectivity. According to the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, 57 percent of the world’s population still lacks access to the internet mostly in Africa. This new data was released by the ITU in its website ahead of the forthcoming 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, Summit to be hosted by the United Nations, UN. New developmental targets will be set for the period up to 2030 at the summit.
The state of broadband report estimates that by the end of 2015, 3.2 billion people will be online, equating to over 43.4 percent of the total world population up from 2.9 billion, or 40.6 percent of the population, recorded in 2014. This means that by the end of 2015, there will still be 57 percent of the world’s population offline.
According to the report, the existing broadband commission target of getting 50 percent of the developing world online by 2020 is unlikely to be met. In Africa, 10.7 percent of households have internet connection, the lowest regional figure and below global averages. The world average is 46.5 percent, while in the developing world the average figure is 34.1 percent of households.
Individual user internet penetration in Africa is 20.7 per 100 inhabitants, the lowest regional figure. The world average is 43.4 per 100 people, and the developing world average is 35.3 per 100 inhabitants. Indeed, the lowest levels of internet access are mostly found in sub-Saharan Africa, with internet available to only 1.7 percent of the population of Guinea; 1.6 percent of Somalia’s population; 1.4 percent of Burundians; and only one percent of Eritrea’s population.
A breakdown of the types of internet connections available shows that Africa has 162 million mobile broadband subscriptions, accounting for five percent of the global total. This is a similar percentage figure to the Arab region, and the Central Island region.
The report stated that Africa has only four million fixed broadband subscriptions, which accounts for 0.01 percent of the global total by far the lowest regional figure. Houlin Zhao, secretary-general, ITU, said, “The UN Sustainable Development Goals remind us that we need to measure global development by the number of those being left behind.
“The market has done its work connecting the world’s wealthier nations, where a strong business case for network roll-out can easily be made. Our important challenge now is to find ways of getting online the four billion people who still lack the benefits of Internet connectivity, and this will be a primary focus of the Broadband Commission going forward.”
The ITU report highlights the importance of connectivity and technologies in bringing about socio-economic development across the world, and said providing universal access to the internet should be a priority in the period to 2030. Irina Bokova, director-general, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, said “The 2030 Agenda recognises the power of new technologies to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide, to develop knowledge societies.
“We must do everything to support States in reaching these goals, especially developing States. This calls for stronger efforts by governments and all actors, in ensuring access, use and affordability. It also requires greater work to build the capacities of all women and men to make the most of all new opportunities.”
— Oct 5, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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