[bestbits] ITU releases 2016 ICT figures

Mon Jul 25 09:41:37 EDT 2016

sorry for cross-posting

(SENT ON A bcc basis to the Digital Development Community of Practice and
WDR 2016 leads)

Dear Colleagues:

FYI - Today, ITU released the latest 2016 Facts and Figures for the
Information Communication technologies (ICT) sector:

 http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx

*ITU releases 2016 ICT figures*

*ICT services getting more affordable – but more than half the world’s
population still not using the Internet*

*Geneva, 22 July 2016 *– New data released today by ITU, the UN specialized
agency for information and communication technology (ICT), show that 3.9
billion people remain cut-off from the vast resources available on the
Internet, despite falling prices for ICT services.

*ICT Facts & Figures 2016*
<http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx> shows
that developing countries now account for the vast majority of Internet
users, with 2.5 billion users compared with one billion in developed
countries.

But Internet penetration rates tell a different story, with 81% in
developed countries, compared with 40% in developing countries and 15% in
the Least Developed Countries.

“Access to information and communication technologies, particularly
broadband, has the potential to serve as a major accelerator of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development. Global interconnectedness is rapidly
expanding, however more needs to be done to bridge the digital divide and
bring the more than half of the global population not using the Internet
into the digital economy,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.

“2016 marks the year when the international community is embarking on the
implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169
targets. ITU, given the tremendous development of ICTs, has a key role to
play in facilitating their attainment,” says Brahima Sanou, the Director of
the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.  “ITU statistics inform
public and private-sector decision makers, and help us accomplish our
mission: to make use of the full potential of ICTs for the timely
achievement of the SDGs.”

*Mobile broadband growth slowing*

The new edition of ITU’s *ICT Facts & Figures*
<http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx> reveals
that mobile phone coverage is now near-ubiquitous, with an estimated 95% of
the global population – or some seven billion people – living in an area
covered by a basic 2G mobile-cellular network.

Advanced mobile-broadband networks (LTE) have spread quickly over the last
three years and reach almost four billion people today – corresponding to
53% of the global population. But while the number of mobile-broadband
subscriptions continues to grow at double digit rates in developing
countries to reach a penetration rate of close to 41%, mobile-broadband
penetration growth has slowed overall. Globally, the total number of
mobile-broadband subscriptions is expected to reach 3.6 billion by end
2016, compared with 3.2 billion at end 2015.

*Fixed broadband growth strongest in developed countries*

Global fixed-broadband subscriptions are expected to reach around 12 per
100 inhabitants in 2016, with Europe, the Americas and the Commonwealth of
Independent States regions having the highest rates of penetration. Strong
growth in China is driving fixed-broadband in Asia and the Pacific, where
penetration is expected to surpass 10% by end of 2016.

*ICT prices continue to fall*

Mobile-broadband services have now become more affordable than
fixed-broadband services, with the average price for a basic
fixed-broadband plan more than twice as high as the average price of a
comparable mobile-broadband plan.

By the end of 2015, 83 developing countries had achieved the *Broadband
Commission’s affordability target*
<http://www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/Broadband_Targets.pdf>.

*Digital divide means half the world is still offline*

By the end of 2016, more than half of the world’s population – 3.9 billion
people – will not yet be using the Internet. While almost one billion
households in the world now have Internet access (of which 230 million are
in China, 60 million in India and 20 million in the world’s 48 Least
Developed Countries), figures for household access reveal the extent of the
digital divide, with 84% of households connected in Europe, compared with
15.4% in the African region.

*Global online gender gap widens*

Internet penetration rates are higher for men than for women in all regions
of the world. The global Internet user gender gap grew from 11% in 2013 to
12% in 2016. The regional gender gap is largest in Africa, at 23%, and
smallest in the Americas, at 2%.

*Internet bandwidth*

By early 2016, international Internet bandwidth had reached 185,000
gigabits per second, up from a low of 30,000 gigabits in 2008. However,
bandwidth is unequally distributed globally, and lack of bandwidth remains
a major bottleneck to improved Internet connectivity in many developing and
Least Developed Countries.

*Read the full ICT Facts & Figures 2016 report*
<http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx>

*About ITU statistics*

ITU statistics are widely recognized as the world’s most reliable and
impartial global data on the state of the global ICT industry. They are
used extensively by leading intergovernmental agencies, financial
institutions and private sector analysts worldwide.

The latest ITU statistics are available at *www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/statistics*
<http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/statistics>

*Follow ITU on Facebook*: *www.itu.int/facebook*
<http://www.itu.int/facebook>

*For more information, please contact:*

*Sarah Parkes or Susan Teltsher*

-- 

# # #
# • #
# # #
*Carolina Rossini *
Vice President, International Policy and Strategy
+ 1 (617) 697 9389 | skype: carolrossini | @carolinarossini
PGP ID:  0xEC81015C
*PublicKnowledge* | @publicknowledge <https://twitter.com/publicknowledge>
 | www.publicknowledge.org
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