third of the world still without internet
According to this, 2.7 billion people were still offline this year – in 2021 there were even three billion people and in 2019, shortly before the corona pandemic, 3.6 billion people.
The strong growth of recent years must be maintained “to ensure that everyone can benefit from the Internet,” said Secretary General of the UN agency, Houlin Zhao. The goal of reaching the entire world population by 2030 can hardly be achieved without new investments in infrastructure and additional educational opportunities.
Two main problems identified
The ITU has identified two main obstacles to global Internet coverage: Most people without Internet access live in remote regions of the world that are difficult to reach. There is also an even more complex problem: Internet access alone does not mean that people can use it regularly and effectively.
The ITU sees several problems here: slow internet speeds, expensive hardware and contracts, insufficient know-how, language and literacy problems, gender-specific discrimination and the lack of a reliable power source.