4bn people worldwide still do not have internet access

About four billion people around the world don’t have any internet access and nearly two billion do not have a mobile phone, the World Development Report 2016 has revealed. The World Bank report, which focused on the digital dividends, says that the digital divide persist across income, age, geography, and gender both in access and in capability, adding that six billion people do not have access to high-speed broadband internet.

“While the internet, mobile phones and other digital technologies are spreading rapidly throughout the developing world, the anticipated digital dividends of higher growth, more jobs and better public services have fallen short of expectations and 60 per cent of the world’s population remains excluded from the ever-expanding digital economy. The benefits of rapid digital expansion have been skewed towards the wealthy, skilled and influential around the world, who are better positioned to take advantage of the new technologies.

In addition, though the number of internet users worldwide has more than tripled since 2005, four billion people don’t have internet access; nearly 2 billion do not use a mobile phone; and almost half a billion live outside areas with a mobile signal,” the report says. 

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