A third of the world’s population will be without internet access by 2022, and the pace of new connections has slowed, according to the latest UN statistics released on Friday. “Around 5.3 billion people worldwide are now using the internet, and while growth remains promising, the trend shows that without new investment in infrastructure and a new impetus to build new digital skills, the chances of connecting the world’s population by 2030 look increasingly slim. :“Explains the International Telecommunication Union in a press release.
If this year 2.7 billion people still do not have access, in 2021 they were still 3 billion, and in 2019 – 3.6 billion, just before the Covid-19 epidemic. this one”gave us a good boost in terms of connectivity, but we need to keep up the pace to make sure everyone can benefitdigital, said Hulin Zhao, Secretary General of the United Nations. “This can only be achieved through more investment in digital networks and technology, regulation of best practices and training.“, he added.
IUT has identified two major obstacles to its goal of a fully connected global population. populations that are still unconnected are also the most difficult to access, and difficulties in moving from simple access to routine and easy access. The ITU believes that barriers are often underestimated, such as too slow connection speeds, too high prices for equipment and subscriptions, lack of digital culture or even cultural and language barriers, as well as gender discrimination and sometimes plain absence. access to electricity.
“While the growth in the number of Internet users worldwide is encouraging, we cannot simply assure that the strong growth seen in recent years will continue.“Warned the American Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the director in charge of development and, first of all, the candidate for Hulin Zhao’s succession. The opposite Russian candidate, Dorin Bogdan-Martin, is the favorite for the elections to be held in Bucharest at the end of September. Regional disparities remain strong. Africa is the least connected of the six ITU regions, with 40% of the population online, compared to 70% in Arab countries. The internet penetration rate in the Asia-Pacific region increased from 61% in 2021 to 64% this year. The Americas, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Europe show rates of over 80%. First is the Old Continent, with 89% of its population connected.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.