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While the Internet is often described as a democratic medium, statistics show that it remains the domain of the developed world. As of 2008, three quarters of North Americans were connected to the Internet. However, just 17.4 percent of Asians and 5.6 percent of Africans had Internet access.

This means that one quarter of our planet occupies one side of the digital divide, while a great majority of the developing world falls on the other side. According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), as of 2004, the developed world had 8 times the Internet user penetration rate of the developing world (53.8 percent vs. only 6.7 percent). This represents a considerable improvement in narrowing the digital divide between the developed and developing worlds, when compared to the figure in 1994. Back then, the developed world had 73 times the Internet user penetration rate of the developing world (2.18 percent vs. only 0.03 percent)!

Specifically, according to the ITU’s World Telecommunication Indicators Database, as of 2004, less than 3 out of every 100 Africans used the Internet, compared to an average of 1 out of every 2 inhabitants of the G8 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Considering the fact that the G8 countries were home to only 15 percent of the world’s population, that they had almost 50 percent of the world’s total Internet users is amazing. Even more astonishing is the fact that there were more than 8 times as many Internet users in the United States than those on the entire African continent.

Furthermore, as of 2004, there were more Internet users in Seoul than those in all of sub-Saharan African, excluding South Africa. London had more Internet users than the whole of Pakistan. Switzerland, host of the first World Summit on the Information Society, had five times the Internet penetration rate of Tunisia, which hosted the second Summit.

In terms of infrastructure that dictates the speed at which websites in other countries can be accessed, as of 2004, tiny Denmark had more than twice the international Internet bandwidth that of Latin America and the Caribbean combined. Because developing countries often have to pay the full cost of a link to a hub in a developed country, as of 2004, more than 40 countries around the world had less than 10Mbps of international Internet bandwidth. In sharp contrast, in Belgium, a 9Mbps ADSL high-speed Internet package was available for only EUR$60 per month.

Mobile Technology Narrows the Digital Divide

As of 2004, there were still 30 countries with an Internet penetration rate of less than 1 percent. While this may suggest that there is a great digital divide between the developed and developing worlds, other forms of digital communications technology need to be taken into consideration. For example, the ITU uses two more indicators in its discussions of these issues. The first is mobile phone ownership, and the second is the penetration rate of fixed telephone line.

In terms of mobile phone ownership, as of 2004, the developed world had 4 times more mobile subscribers per 100 people than the developing world (76.8 percent vs. 18.8 percent). While the aforementioned G8 countries only had 15 percent of the global population, they accounted for 34 percent of the world’s total mobile users.

In terms of fixed telephone lines, as of 2004, the developed world had 4 times more fixed telephones than the developing world (53.5 percent vs. 18.8 percent). While Africa only had an average of 3 fixed telephone lines per 100 people, the Americas combined had an average of 34 fixed telephone lines per 100 people. Even better, Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) combined had an average of 40 fixed telephone lines per 100 people.

When discussing issues related to the digital divide on the basis of location, Africa clearly had a disadvantage. As of 2004, Africa had some 20 million Internet users and an Internet penetration rate of just 3 percent. Africa also accounted for 13 percent of the world’s population, but for only 3.7 percent of all fixed and mobile telephone subscribers worldwide. More than 20 countries in the continent still had a national average of less than 1 fixed telephone line serving every 100 people. Almost 75 percent of all Africa’s fixed telephone lines were found in just 6 of the continent’s 55 countries.

Nonetheless, compared to other regions of the world, Africa’s mobile phone subscription rate was the highest from 2000 to 2004, averaging nearly 60 percent on a year-by-year basis. In 2004 alone, some 25 million new mobile phone subscribers were added in the continent. By the end of that year, Africa had approximately 76 million mobile phone subscribers.

Digital Divide Sharpens in Asia-Pacific Region

In sharp contrast, as for 2004, the Asian-Pacific region accounted for 57 percent of the world’s population and had the most evident digital divide. Countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Laos had less than 1 percent of Internet penetration rate, compared to countries such as Australia and South Korea that had more than 65 percent of Internet penetration rate. Meanwhile, countries such as Bhutan, Myanmar (former Burma), Nepal and Papua New Guinea had less than 1 percent of mobile phone penetration rate, compared to countries such as Hong Kong (China) and Singapore that had 90 percent or more.

China alone represented nearly 50 percent of the entire Asian mobile phone market in terms of subscriber numbers. However, as of 2004, its domestic mobile phone penetration rate still remained at approximately 25 percent.

The Situation in Europe and Russia

Finally, as of 2004, Europe led the world in terms of mobile phone penetration (70 percent), with more than 570 million subscribers. This is considerably higher than the 42 percent in the Americas, 19 percent in the Asian-Pacific region, and 9 percent in Africa. By the end of that year, almost all of the countries in Europe had more mobile subscribers than fixed telephone lines. While Russia was Europe’s fastest growing mobile market, boasting more than 74 million subscribers in 2004, the Netherlands ranked third worldwide in terms of broadband penetration, behind South Korea and Hong Kong (China).

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