Africa will lose out of the 4th Industrial Revolution if efforts are not made to ensure that more of its people have access to the internet. This was the submission from analysts after the recent report from the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, which shows that sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of people offline out of the 3.6 billion without access to internet connections globally. According to a press release accompanying its latest report, ITU data showed that while the digital gender gap has been shrinking in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Europe, it is growing in the Arab States, Asia-Pacific and especially in the Africa region.
It is widest in developing countries, especially Least Developed Countries (LDC), the report which highlighted the digital gender divide added. ITU’s Measuring digital development reports are a powerful tool to better understand connectivity issues, including the growing digital gender divide, at a time when over half of the world’s population is using the Internet.
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According to the Report Africa region has offline population of over 71% whiles Europe has the lowest of 17.5%. Breaking this down, the report noted that Europe region has the highest Internet use (82.5 per cent), while Africa region has the lowest (28.2 per cent). Internet use in developed countries is nearing saturation levels, with close to 87 per cent of individuals online.
The Report notes that by the end of 2019, ITU estimates that 57 per cent of households globally will have Internet access at home while computers are expected to become less important to households thanks to smart phones. Also an estimated 4.1 billion people are using the Internet in 2019 which reflects a 5.3 per cent increase compared with 2018. Between 2005 and 2019, the number of Internet users grew on average by 10 per cent every year but about 3.6 billion people around the world still lack online access.
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Speaking on the development, the Secretary General of ITU Houlin Zhao said that “ITU’s Measuring digital development reports are a powerful tool to better understand connectivity issues, including the growing digital gender divide, at a time when over half of the world’s population is using the Internet,” adding that the “ITU statistics help policy-makers and regulators make informed policy decisions to connect the unconnected and track progress at the global level.”
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.