Although internet adoption has more than doubled since the year 2010, a significant portion of the worldwide population still does not have access to the internet. Furthermore, the number of people who do not have access to the internet skews towards higher percentages in certain regions of the world. According to the data published by DataPortal, the majority of regions with higher rates of disconnected people are in Africa and Asia.
Here, we will discuss the regions which have the greatest number of disconnected people and the countries that have seen the most growth between 2019 and 2020. The top ten countries with the highest number of people not connected to the web include India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, and Egypt.
It is interesting to note that India is considered to be the second-largest online market in the world, and it is the country with the highest number of people disconnected from the web. 50% of the people in India still do not have access to the internet. In comparison, only 14% of the people in the United States remains disconnected from the web.
China is the second country with the highest number of people disconnected from the web and more than 582 million people in China do not have access to the internet. It might be due to the significant rural population of China since 39% of China’s population was living in rural areas in 2019. You may also note that the rural-urban divide in an issue in several regions of the world, and even countries like the United States struggle to provide internet access to people living in rural areas.
While India and China have the highest number of people disconnected from the web, there are countries in the world arguably more disconnected. The top ten most disconnected regions, by share of the population, include North Korea, South Sudan, Eritrea, Burundi, Somalia, Niger, Papua New Guinea, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and the Central African Republic.
Due to political reasons, 100% of North Korea’s population is disconnected from the web, and only a select few individuals can access the wider web. Regular citizens in North Korea cannot use the global internet and have access to a domestic intranet known as Kwangmyong. On the other hand, South Sudan has struggled with economic hardships for several years. 92% of the country’s population does not have access to the internet while only 2% population has access to electricity.
With internet advancements such as the 5G, many countries are also seeing significant growth. The number of internet users in Central Africa increased by 40% between 2019 and 2020. The top five fast-growing countries include Central Africa, Southern Asia (+20%), Northern Africa (+14%), Western Asia (+11%), and Caribbean (+9%).
The significant growth of internet users in Africa was due to the huge spike of internet users in the DRC since the number of internet users in the Democratic Republic of Congo increased by 9 million. You may also note that India has also seen significant growth and the number of internet users in India increased by 128 million between 2019 and 2020.
Infographic courtesy of: Visualcapitalist.
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Here, we will discuss the regions which have the greatest number of disconnected people and the countries that have seen the most growth between 2019 and 2020. The top ten countries with the highest number of people not connected to the web include India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, and Egypt.
It is interesting to note that India is considered to be the second-largest online market in the world, and it is the country with the highest number of people disconnected from the web. 50% of the people in India still do not have access to the internet. In comparison, only 14% of the people in the United States remains disconnected from the web.
China is the second country with the highest number of people disconnected from the web and more than 582 million people in China do not have access to the internet. It might be due to the significant rural population of China since 39% of China’s population was living in rural areas in 2019. You may also note that the rural-urban divide in an issue in several regions of the world, and even countries like the United States struggle to provide internet access to people living in rural areas.
While India and China have the highest number of people disconnected from the web, there are countries in the world arguably more disconnected. The top ten most disconnected regions, by share of the population, include North Korea, South Sudan, Eritrea, Burundi, Somalia, Niger, Papua New Guinea, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and the Central African Republic.
Due to political reasons, 100% of North Korea’s population is disconnected from the web, and only a select few individuals can access the wider web. Regular citizens in North Korea cannot use the global internet and have access to a domestic intranet known as Kwangmyong. On the other hand, South Sudan has struggled with economic hardships for several years. 92% of the country’s population does not have access to the internet while only 2% population has access to electricity.
With internet advancements such as the 5G, many countries are also seeing significant growth. The number of internet users in Central Africa increased by 40% between 2019 and 2020. The top five fast-growing countries include Central Africa, Southern Asia (+20%), Northern Africa (+14%), Western Asia (+11%), and Caribbean (+9%).
The significant growth of internet users in Africa was due to the huge spike of internet users in the DRC since the number of internet users in the Democratic Republic of Congo increased by 9 million. You may also note that India has also seen significant growth and the number of internet users in India increased by 128 million between 2019 and 2020.
Infographic courtesy of: Visualcapitalist.
Read next: This Is What Happens in Just One Minute on Internet
