Global connectivity keeps rising, yet the numbers behind this year’s
ITU assessment show how sharply the gains tilt toward countries that already sit ahead. The world now counts 6 billion people online in 2025, equal to 74 percent of the population, up from 5.8 billion a year earlier. Growth inched upward to 3.3 percent, but even with that push, 2.2 billion people remain offline. Most of them live in places where income levels and infrastructure shape access long before a device ever turns on.
| Year |
Number of Internet users, billions |
Percentage of Internet Users |
| 2005 |
1 |
15.6 |
| 2005 |
1 |
15.6 |
| 2006 |
1.1 |
17.2 |
| 2006 |
1.1 |
17.2 |
| 2007 |
1.4 |
20.2 |
| 2007 |
1.4 |
20.2 |
| 2008 |
1.6 |
22.8 |
| 2008 |
1.6 |
22.8 |
| 2009 |
1.7 |
25.3 |
| 2009 |
1.7 |
25.3 |
| 2010 |
2 |
28.4 |
| 2010 |
2 |
28.4 |
| 2011 |
2.2 |
30.9 |
| 2011 |
2.2 |
30.9 |
| 2012 |
2.4 |
33.3 |
| 2012 |
2.4 |
33.3 |
| 2013 |
2.6 |
35.3 |
| 2013 |
2.6 |
35.3 |
| 2014 |
2.8 |
37.4 |
| 2014 |
2.8 |
37.4 |
| 2015 |
3 |
39.9 |
| 2015 |
3 |
39.9 |
| 2016 |
3.3 |
43.6 |
| 2016 |
3.3 |
43.6 |
| 2017 |
3.5 |
46.3 |
| 2017 |
3.5 |
46.3 |
| 2018 |
3.8 |
49.4 |
| 2018 |
3.8 |
49.4 |
| 2019 |
4.2 |
53.9 |
| 2019 |
4.2 |
53.9 |
| 2020 |
4.7 |
60.1 |
| 2020 |
4.7 |
60.1 |
| 2021 |
5.1 |
63.8 |
| 2021 |
5.1 |
63.8 |
| 2022 |
5.4 |
67 |
| 2022 |
5.4 |
67 |
| 2023 |
5.6 |
69.2 |
| 2023 |
5.6 |
69.2 |
| 2024 |
5.8 |
71.2 |
| 2024 |
5.8 |
71.2 |
| 2025 |
6 |
73.6 |
| 2025 |
6 |
73.6 |
High-income economies sit near universal use with 94 percent of their populations online. Low-income economies reach only 23 percent, a gap that barely moves even when year-on-year growth hits 7.4 percent in some of these countries. Regional figures paint the same picture. Europe and the CIS stand between 88 and 93 percent. The Americas reaches 88 percent. Asia Pacific settles at 77 percent and the Arab States at 70 percent. Africa trails with 36 percent. Least developed countries reach 34 percent, and landlocked developing countries reach 38 percent. Both remain far from a point where steady annual improvements could close the distance.
Gender divides follow the same path. Worldwide, 77 percent of men use the Internet against 71 percent of women. That gap produces a global parity score of 0.92, the same level seen in 2019, which shows little overall movement. Europe, the CIS, and the Americas reach parity, yet low-income economies sit at a much wider split with only 18 percent of women online compared with 29 percent of men. LDCs show a similar pattern with 28 percent of women online against 39 percent of men. Africa shows improvement over several years, but still reaches only a parity score of 0.78.
Age also matters. Youth aged 15 to 24 reach 82 percent global usage, while the rest of the population reaches 72 percent. That ten-point difference narrows slowly, but gaps in low-income regions stand out. Young people there are nearly twice as likely as older groups to be online. By contrast, youth in high-income countries sit only five percent above the rest of their population. Europe, the CIS, and the Americas already show youth usage above 95 percent.
Where people live has a large effect on whether they connect. Urban areas reach 85 percent global Internet use. Rural areas stop at 58 percent. Africa’s rural-urban ratio hits 2.6, one of the widest gaps. Low-income countries show only 14 percent of rural populations online, compared with 39 percent in urban zones. Even in regions with relatively high overall access, rural connections do not move at the same pace. Europe stands closest to balance at a ratio of 1.1.
Network quality redraws these divides. This year’s data show 5G coverage reaching 55 percent of the world’s population, yet only 4 percent in low-income economies. High-income economies stand at 84 percent. Europe reaches 74 percent, Asia Pacific reaches 70 percent, and the Americas reaches 60 percent. Coverage in the Arab States reaches 13 percent and Africa reaches 12 percent, while the CIS sits at 8 percent. Older networks fill the gap. 4G covers 93 percent of the global population, but only 56 percent in low-income countries. In these markets, 3G still acts as the main entry point for mobile broadband.
Around 312 million people live in locations without any mobile broadband signal. Nearly half of that unserved group is in Africa. Rural pockets tell an even starker story. In SIDS, 36 percent of rural residents lack 3G or higher. In the Americas, 21 percent of rural residents remain outside 3G coverage. In LDCs, the figure is 19 percent, and in LLDCs it is 17 percent.
Subscription numbers stretch the divide from another angle. The world now holds 9.2 billion mobile-cellular subscriptions, equal to 112 per 100 inhabitants. High-income economies reach 142 per 100 inhabitants, while low-income economies reach 70. Mobile broadband sits at 99 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, which places the global total almost one-to-one with population, yet distribution is uneven. The Americas stands at 132 mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. Africa stands at 56. In 2025, 36 percent of all mobile broadband subscriptions are 5G. Regions with strong 5G coverage hold more than 40 percent of their subscriptions on the newer standard, while Africa and the CIS sit near 2 percent or lower.
Traffic intensity highlights the gap in how people use their connections. The global average mobile broadband traffic reaches 15.3 GB per subscription per month. High-income economies sit at 17.9 GB. Low-income economies average 2.2 GB. That means a user in a high-income country generates a month of low-income traffic in just four days. The CIS region leads mobile data use with 22 GB per subscription. Africa records 5.2 GB. For fixed broadband, global traffic averages 369 GB per subscription. High-income economies climb to 505 GB, while low-income, lower-middle, and upper-middle groups land between 248 and 310 GB.
Affordability remains one of the strongest barriers. Median prices for a data-only 5 GB mobile broadband basket fall from 1.5 to 1.4 percent of GNI per capita worldwide. Fixed broadband stays at 2.5 percent. But the averages hide how steep the cost feels for lower-income users. People in low-income economies spend 22 times more of their income on mobile broadband than users in high-income economies. Fixed broadband costs more than one quarter of average income in low-income countries. Of 205 economies with data for mobile broadband, only 130 meet the affordability target of 2 percent of GNI per capita. For fixed broadband, only 88 out of 195 meet that mark.
ICT skills show another layer of imbalance. Communication skills remain strong in most countries, with at least three-quarters of Internet users showing basic capability. Skills in safety, problem solving, and content creation vary widely. Among the eight countries with complete data, overall basic skill levels for Internet users range between 16 and 74 percent, a spread that speaks to uneven readiness even where connectivity exists.
Mobile phone ownership runs higher than Internet use, reaching 82 percent worldwide among people aged 10 and older. High-income economies reach universal levels above 95 percent. Upper-middle economies reach 90 percent. Low-income economies reach 53 percent. In Africa, phone ownership reaches 66 percent, yet only 36 percent go online. The gender gap in phone ownership mirrors the gender gap in Internet use. Globally, 87 percent of men own a phone compared with 78 percent of women. Women account for 67 percent of those without phones.
All these figures move in one direction. The world is drawing more people online each year, but the benefits rise fastest where income, infrastructure, and skills already align. The poorest regions gain users but lose ground on quality, speed, and affordability. Growth continues, yet the numbers show how far the gap still runs.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools.
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