Internet Access in Low-Income Countries Increases to 13.2%

The proportion of households with internet access in low-income countries grew from 8 percent to 13.2 percent (a 65.1 percent improvement), with the largest year-on-year increases in Rwanda (490 percent), Nepal (138 percent), and Tanzania (87.8 percent).

This is according to the Inclusive Internet Index 2018 which showed that emerging markets, especially in Africa, experienced the fastest and greatest progress over the last year. While connectivity worldwide grew 8.3 percent, there was a 65.1 percent increase in low-income countries. 

In some countries, fixed-line internet access is too expensive or inaccessible, that’s why mobile services are critical. The index reveals that coverage of 4G networking services grew significantly as networks in low-income countries are being upgraded.

In fact, the average 4G coverage rate for low-income countries increased year-over-year from 9.1 percent to 17.3 percent, with particularly rapid expansion in Guatemala (3,935 percent), Indonesia (658.8 percent), Thailand (366.7 percent), Zambia (330.6 percent), and China (244 percent).

On the other hand, the cost of mobile broadband data plans in lower-income countries decreased about 17.3 percent from last year, with Argentina (-89.2 percent), El Salvador (-76.5 percent), Tanzania (-69.2 percent), and Ethiopia (-60.9 percent) experiencing the steepest relative cost declines.

Overall, however, people are still devoting too much of their earnings on internet access relative to their income level. In too many low-income countries, it is still not as affordable as the UN 2025 target of less than 2 percent of GNI per capita.

According to the latest sector statistics by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), covering July to September 2017, the demand for data/Internet continued to soar, with the number of estimated data/Internet users jumping by 12.5 percent to post 51.1 million users compared to 45.4 million users reported in the previous quarter.

The figures released by the CA also pointed to an increased uptake of broadband Internet in particular, which had gone up by 14.3 percent in the period ending September 2017.

Across the indexed countries, on average, men are 33.5 percent more likely to have internet access than women. The gap is even larger in low-income countries, which have an average gender access gap of 80.2 percent compared with 3.7 percent among high-income countries.

This is a sobering finding, but there is evidence to be optimistic. Governments have shown the benefits of setting gender-specific targets in national digital plans, embedding internet access in wider gender equality plans, targeting women in ICT skills training programs, and increasing the attractiveness of entering ICT professions for women.

The study found that the UK, Namibia, and Ireland, followed by Austria, Chile, and South Africa, are among the top e-inclusion performers of the year, all with female digital skills training plans.

67 percent of survey respondents believe that access to the internet is a human right. Not only do people say that the internet helped them become more confident to express themselves, but the majority of respondents also say that the internet has helped them become more independent and economically empowered. If the ability to use and benefit from the internet is unevenly distributed, it could serve to deepen inequality.

The index disclosed that people want confidence that their activity online is private. The data show that concerns about security and privacy may limit people’s use of the internet – for example, when it comes to making purchases online, only 62.1 percent of survey respondents feel that making purchases online is safe and secure.