Global Internet Access: A Brief Overview

Image Source: Jorge, Sonia, and Dhanaraj Thakur. “Raising the Bar for Internet Access: Introducing ‘Meaningful Connectivity.’” Alliance for Affordable Internet, 16 Sept. 2022, https://a4ai.org/news/raising-the-bar-for-internet-access-introducing-meaningful-connectivity/.

The Importance Of Widespread Internet Access

Internet access is an essential part of our everyday lives. Personally, I use the internet all the time when it comes to school, work, writing articles on this website, and many other things. Just imagine going through the Covid-19 pandemic without any internet. Without internet, many students wouldn't have access to education since most schools implemented virtual learning during the pandemic. Furthermore, many companies such as Facebook have stated that they will allow employees to work from home as long as their work can be done remotely. Those employees will need access to internet to do their work. As of April 2022, around 5 billion people were online; this may seem like a lot, however, it's less than 65% of the global population. Multiple studies have shown that internet access leads to better education and access to information leads to more innovation. With that said, why doesn't everyone have access to reliable internet?

Why Are So Many People Not Connected?

First of all, most people without access to internet live in poverty, which makes it difficult for them to afford a computer and an internet connection. Additionally, some governments are not taking active steps to address this pressing issue. Furthermore, around a billion people around the world lack basic literacy skills to use the internet; in some cases, their native language may be underrepresented on the internet. Lastly, many who are not connected to the internet just don't see the need for it or simply don't understand what it actually is, thus, are unwilling to invest their time and money in it. Of course there are many more reasons for the lack of connectivity such as limited infrastructure, but, I only covered the main ones to keep this article short and simple. So, which countries have the most access to the internet and which ones have the least?

Countries With The Most Access (Table 1)

According to data from Statistica.com, the following countries have the most internet users (in millions).

1. China: 1020

2. India: 658

3. United States: 307.2

4. Indonesia: 204.7

5. Brazil: 165.3

6. Russia: 129.8

7. Japan: 118.3

8. Nigeria: 109.2

9. Mexico: 96.87

10. Germany: 78.02

Countries With The Lowest Levels of Internet Access (Table 2)

According to data from Statistica.com, the following countries have the lowest levels of internet access based on their population.

1. North Korea: 0.1%

2. Eritrea: 8%

3. Comoros: 8.5%

4. Central African Republic (CAR): 10.4%

5. South Sudan: 11.4%

6. Somalia: 14.1%

7. Niger: 14.8%

8. Burundi: 15.1%

9. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): 17.9%

10. Malawi: 19.8%

*Don't compare the two data sets. They are independent of each other. Table 1 shows the NUMBER of internet users in the countries while Table 2 shows the number of internet users as a PORTION of the countries' total population. For example, India ranked num. 2 on Table 1, however, less than 45% of its population has access to the internet.