The Global Digital Divide: Understanding the Impact and Bridging the Gap
The Global Digital Divide is the equity gap between those that have access to technology and the internet and those that don’t. This gap effects individuals, businesses, countries and entire regions. The affects of this gap are numerous from lower education outcomes for individuals to loss of income for businesses and countries. Digital connectivity is enriching the human experience—but the reality is that this is limited to those that are connected.
Defining the Gap
The literature generally defines the digital divide as the gap between segments of society “with regard to both their opportunities to access information and communication technologies [ICTs] and to their use of the Internet”. As society has grown reliant on technology and the internet, those lacking digital literacy and access to ICTs face greater challenges and even outright exclusion integrating into an increasingly digitally-dependent economy and society. The International Telecommunication Union indicates that 2.9 billion people globally remain offline, around 37 percent of the world’s population.
Main Causes and Predictors
The main causes of the Digital Divide are financial, statistics show the higher a families income the more likely it is that they will have access to the internet. Though there are also other factors such as geographical location such as the gap in access in Australia between regional and metropolitan areas. Data from the latest wave of Arab Barometer surveys indicate that rates of internet usage differ markedly along demographic lines. Disadvantaged segments of society like women, the elderly, the less educated, and lower income individuals are less likely to use the internet than their male, younger, higher educated, and higher income counterparts.
Regional Disparities
The divide across MENA is not just within countries, but also across countries. In Kuwait, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, only 3 percent say they never use the internet. In contrast, roughly a quarter of respondents in Iraq (24 percent), Libya (26 percent), and Sudan (28 percent) are offline. Most notably, in Yemen, the proportion of offline respondents roughly equals the rate of online respondents. In Africa in 2021, only 33 percent of the population was using the internet, meaning an estimated 871 million people are not realizing digital dividends. The following data summarizes the rates of offline citizens in various regions:
| Region / Country | Offline Respondents (%) |
|---|---|
| Kuwait | 3% |
| Lebanon | 12% |
| Jordan | 16% |
| Palestine | 17% |
| Iraq | 24% |
| Libya | 26% |
| Sudan | 28% |
| Morocco | 31% |
| Algeria | 32% |
| Tunisia | 41% |
| Egypt | 42% |
| Yemen | 47% |
Coverage Gap vs. Usage Gap
Data from the GSMA show two connectivity gaps: a coverage gap (meaning unconnected populations live in an area not covered by mobile broadband) and a usage gap (meaning they live within the footprint of a mobile broadband network but are not using mobile internet services). The global coverage gap stands at 6 percent, with the largest gap, in sub-Saharan Africa, at 19 percent. Despite the increased internet penetration in Africa, the usage gap has widened from 36 percent in 2014 to 53 percent in 2020. The number of Africans who live within the footprint of a mobile broadband network but are not using mobile internet service has increased, signaling that policymakers and stakeholders need to rethink universal access policies.
Bridging the Gap
Organisations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation are investing in bridging this gap. For example in America they have been awarding grants to public libraries to invest in free computer access for citizens along with training. Training is a crucial factor in bridging the Digital Divide, we can’t just give communities computers and internet access and expect them to become digital citizens. For people that have never been exposed to technology there is a vast learning curve which can only be solved with structured support and training. The gap in disadvantage will increase due to the many educational and economic benefits that are tied to having good access to technology if steps are not taken to bridge the gap.
