According to the recent Facts and Figures 2023 report released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 67% of the world's population uses Internet services, of which 79% of young people aged 15-24 use the Internet, and 5G mobile networks have covered nearly 40% of the world's population. According to the report, the current global Internet development has achieved positive results, but the current situation of uneven Internet access shows that there is still a digital divide in the world. ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said: "The faster and better technology evolves, the more urgent our mission to connect us all. ”
The digital divide persists
ITU's annual report, Facts & Figures 2023, tracks global connectivity through an assessment of key indicators. According to the report, the number of global internet users has increased to 5.4 billion, an increase of 4.7% from 2022. The report argues that the use of the Internet is closely related to the level of socio-economic development of a country. In high-income countries, about 93% of the population will be internet users in 2023, while in low-income countries, only 27% of the population will use the internet. In addition, there is a large difference in the degree of Internet coverage between urban and rural areas, with 81% of urban residents using the Internet, which is 1.6 times the proportion of Internet users in rural areas.
Analysis of Internet data usage shows that fixed broadband networks are still common in office and home settings, with Internet traffic far outnumbering mobile broadband networks. Fixed broadband services accounted for more than 80% of global internet traffic in 2022. In 2022, the average monthly data usage of fixed broadband subscribers was 257 gigabytes, while the average monthly data usage of mobile network subscribers was 11 gigabytes. There is a gap between high-income and low-income countries in terms of relevant indicators. Low-income countries have only one fixed broadband subscription per 100 people, with an average monthly data traffic of 161 gigabytes for fixed broadband and 1 gigabyte for mobile networks.
The report also shows that the global distribution of 5G networks is uneven. 89% of the population in high-income countries is already covered by 5G networks, while in many low-income countries, where 4G networks only cover 39% of the population, 3G is often the only way to connect to the internet.
"There are reasons to be optimistic about the global digital outlook, but the pace of growth is uneven across regions. Kosmas Zawazawa, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, noted that new indicators on 5G network coverage and Internet traffic highlight the gap between high- and low-income economies, and that the global digital divide needs to be bridged. He called on countries to take further steps to promote Internet access and digital technologies to lay the foundations for a more inclusive and sustainable future.
Promote the adoption of digital technologies
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2023 theme event that the digital revolution is the "decisive force" of our time...... As the Internet plays an increasing role in value creation and innovation, LDCs are likely to lag even further behind. "We must aggressively improve accessibility, increase inclusion, and bridge the digital divide, and we must support the creation of digital public goods such as open source software, open data, and open content. ”
The UNSDG urges countries to promote digital adoption and development, promote digital infrastructure and connectivity, and work towards a technologically advanced and socially and environmentally responsible future. "Accelerating digital development can play a key role in thriving business and trade, creating jobs, increasing access to healthcare and education, and promoting social equality. ”
Taking Southeast Asia as an example, Internet penetration has continued to grow in recent years, which has promoted the rapid development of the digital industry in the region. Data shows that between 2019 and 2022, the number of Internet users in Southeast Asia increased by 100 million, and the overall Internet penetration rate rose to 76%. According to the 2023 Southeast Asia Digital Economy Report jointly released by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, Southeast Asia's digital economy is expected to achieve US$100 billion in revenue in 2023, an eightfold increase in the past eight years, of which e-commerce and other industries have contributed US$70 billion in revenue, and will continue to maintain rapid growth momentum in the future.
Robert Opp, Chief Digital Officer of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), noted that digital technologies can be used to hedge multiple risks and challenges, and can be an "accelerator" for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For example, Zimbabwe's "Inclusive Digital System" has been rolled out to provide farmers with reliable financial services with the help of digital technology and blockchain technology, and now this agricultural assistance project has been extended to hundreds of millions of farmers in Africa, greatly facilitating the solution of agricultural borrowing problems in Africa.
The 2023 Facts & Figures report also suggests that smartphones are the most common internet portal. Transsion, a Chinese mobile phone brand, has maintained a leading market share in Africa all year round. By vigorously developing mobile Internet businesses, including news aggregation applications, integrated content distribution applications, music streaming media, etc., the brand has brought convenience to local users and greatly enriched the spiritual life of the people.
Promote inclusive development
A policy brief released by the United Nations last year pointed out that digital technology is important for improving productivity and value in the value chain. There is an urgent need for countries to strengthen collaboration and take more measures to develop digital technologies to narrow the digital divide and extend the digital dividend to more people.
Landry Signe, a senior fellow at the Global Economy and Development Program and the African Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, believes that bridging the global digital divide needs to take into account the specific circumstances of each country and region, especially the digital service needs and practical concerns of developing economies. The cross-border nature of the digital transformation process determines that it requires stronger international cooperation and global consensus, and governments, enterprises, and civil society should actively participate in and strengthen coordinated actions.
Internet penetration on the continent is currently less than 47 per cent. To facilitate the region's digital development process, the African Union, with the support of the World Bank, has developed an ambitious digital "moon plan" to provide high-speed Internet connectivity to the general population and lay the foundation for a thriving digital economy. If the plan is implemented, the number of Internet users in Africa will reach 1.65 billion to 1.71 billion by 2030, based on UN population growth projections. In November 2023, the World Bank also approved a $266.5 million digital integration plan for the West Africa region, which aims to improve Internet access in The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania, and promote the development of a single digital market in West Africa, making Internet services more affordable and improving digital infrastructure in the region, while providing new opportunities for employment and access to services, including more women, people with disabilities, and others.
China's initiatives and actions have played an important role in accelerating global digital development. Under the FOCAC mechanism, Chinese companies have helped African countries build and upgrade about 150,000 kilometers of backbone communication networks, covering about 700 million users. Taking Botswana as an example, the Botswana National Data Center project, which is built by Chinese enterprises, will be completed and accepted in the near future, which will greatly improve the efficiency of data reading and user Internet experience, and provide massive data storage space for large enterprises, boosting the development of the local digital economy.
According to the analysis of Internet applications in 21 underdeveloped countries in the World Internet Development Report 2023 released by the China Academy of Cyberspace, the development rate of Internet applications in 15 Belt and Road countries, including Laos, Myanmar and Angola, is higher than the average growth rate of other countries, which to a certain extent reflects the role of the Belt and Road Initiative, especially the construction of the Digital Silk Road, in driving the Internet development of these countries. (Reporter Shang Kaiyuan)
(Paris, January 11)