In 2022, nearly 407 million people in the least developed countries (LDCs) were using the Internet. It is only 36 percent of the population, compared to 66 percent globally. The 720 million people are still offline in LDCs accounting for 27 percent of the global offline population. reportsrecords.com
Since 2011, Internet use in LDCs surged from 4 percent of the population to 36 percent, an annual growth rate of 22 percent. Which is more than three times the global growth rate. LDCs started from a much lower base in 2011 when 31 percent of the world’s population was already online.
Internet penetration has increased substantially, but growth in Internet use tends to slow down. Growth rates ranged from 13 to 17 percent between 2019 and 2022, significantly lower than that between 2011 and 2018. When measured in terms of Internet use, the digital gender gap in LDCs remains significant with no sign of narrowing.
The possibility for everyone to enjoy a safe, satisfying, enriching, and affordable online experience – remains a distant prospect for LDCs. Only 36 percent of the population in LDCs used the Internet in 2022, compared with 66 percent globally. As many as 17 percent of the population in LDCs don’t have access to a fixed or mobile broadband network.
The young are leading the way in Internet use
As of 2022, almost half (48 percent) of young people (15- to 24-year-olds) in LDC were online. That is almost 15 percentage points more than the rest of the population.
Internet use in rural areas is growing twice as fast as in urban areas
Just 28 percent of the population in rural areas was online in 2022, compared with 52 percent in urban areas. Between 2019 and 2022, the urban-rural ratio narrowed from 2.5 to 1.9, as rural areas are experiencing ‘catch-up’ growth.
Universal broadband coverage is still elusive
Only 83 percent of the combined LDC population is covered by a mobile broadband signal, compared with 95 percent of the world’s population. This leaves an access gap of 17 percent of the population that
cannot access the Internet. 8 percent have no mobile signal at all, and 9 percent have a mobile cellular signal that does not connect to the Internet. It is made up of 2 percent of the population with no mobile signal and 3 percent that only receives a 2G signal.
Virtually all urban areas in the world are covered by a mobile broadband network. In LDCs, however, one-fifth of the urban population only has access to a 3G network, a much slower technology than 4G. In the rural areas of LDCs, 13 percent of the population has no mobile signal at all. Another 13 percent only have access to a 2G network.
Affordability
Despite rapid falls in mobile-broadband prices, affordability targets remain elusive
The Internet is more costly in LDCs than anywhere else in the world. The price of the mobile broadband basket with a 2 GB monthly allowance amounts to almost 6 percent of the average monthly income in LDCs. It is around four times the 1.5 percent average cost across the globe. The UN Broadband Commission has set an affordability target for the cost of no more than 2 percent of the average gross national income per capita in a country.
In 2022, mobile phone ownership among males in LDCs reached 68 percent. While for the female population mobile phone ownership is only 48 percent.
