The latest UN report says that 30% of the world's population has never been online

According to a report by the British "Guardian" on November 30, according to a latest report from the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU), there are still nearly 3 billion people in the world who have never used the Internet. This figure accounts for about 37% of the world's total population, and 96% of these people live in developing countries.

Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people using the Internet worldwide has increased from 4.1 billion in 2019 to 4.9 billion in 2021. In the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of Internet users worldwide increased by more than 10%, the largest annual growth rate in nearly a decade. The ITU pointed out that lockdowns, school closures, and the demand for remote services have all driven this growth. However, behind the growth, there is still an imbalance between regions and populations. For poor countries, network facilities are beyond their affordability. Among 46 less developed countries, about three-quarters of the population have never used the Internet. At the same time, in developing countries, the gender gap in Internet use is also prominent.

The International Telecommunication Union is an important specialized agency of the United Nations and the oldest international organization among the United Nations agencies. The ITU is the United Nations agency responsible for information and communication technology affairs, responsible for allocating and managing global radio spectrum and satellite orbit resources, formulating global telecommunication standards, providing telecommunication assistance to developing countries, and promoting global telecommunication development.