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200 million previously unconnected people joined global internet population in 2015

By the end of 2015, around 200 million previously unconnected people were able to join the global internet population, narrowing the internet access gap by 2%.

This according to Facebook’s State of Connectivity report, which takes a look at online connectivity. The reports also serves as a way to show private and public stakeholders how data can help assess the barriers to connectivity at the global, national and local levels and inform initiatives to reduce them.

Data from research by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2014 revealed that 4.3 billion of the world’s population had no internet access. A year later, that number was reduced to 4.1 billion ( representing 43% of the global population).

The majority of unconnected population are in developing countries (only 35% are connected), with South Asia only having 17% of its total population accessing the internet followed by Sub-Saharan Africa with only 19%.

North America remains the most connected region at 87%.

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Mobile phones are the primary way previously unconnected people are using to get onto the internet, because they are much more widely available than fixed broadband networks, which have limited coverage in developing countries.

“Growth in internet users has been steady over the last ten years, with a net increase of 200 to 300 million people every year,” the report stated.

The growth can mostly be attributed to more people getting an internet-enabled mobile and the availability of a mobile broadband network.

However, if active steps aren’t taken to narrow the gap faster, we’ll still be left with three billion unconnected people by 2020, with nearly all of them being in the developing world, Facebook said

The company said achieving global connectivity will require action to address the following four key barriers to internet access:

• Availability: Proximity of the necessary infrastructure required for access.

• Affordability: The cost of access relative to income.

• Relevance: A reason for access, such as attractive content in people’s main language.

• Readiness: The capacity to access, including skills, awareness and cultural acceptance.

“These barriers do not arise in isolation, nor can they be addressed in isolation. They function as a cluster, each one affecting the others. Unless corporations, government, NGOs and non-profits work together to address these chief barriers to access, the digital divide will persist and expand,” the company said.

MKGRA265 Facebook - Full page Infographic AW Feb 2016 V1 US

Read the full State of Connectivity report on the Internet.org website.

[Image –  CC Blaise Alleyne]

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