JRS2021

Want to understand the extent of the world’s digital divide? Look at these 3 charts

NASA image of a world map lit up at night

Modern infrastructure is essential for improving the connectivity of countries. Image: Unsplash/NASA

Vivien Foster
Chief Economist for the Infrastructure Vice-Presidency, World Bank
Niccolò Comini
Economist with the Digital Development Global Practice, World Bank
Sharada Srinivasan
Young Professional, Digital Development Global Practice, World Bank
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Data Science is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:

JRS2021

Have you read?
a map showing that the global fiber-optic cable submarine network reaches all corners of the world, but data infrastructure is unevenly developed
Modern data infrastructure is much less prevalent in LICs than elsewhere. Image: PeeringDB, Interconnection Database, https://www.peeringdb.com/; PCH Packet Clearing House, Packet Clearing House Report on Internet Exchange Point Locations (database), accessed December 14, 2020, https://www.pch.net/ixp/summary; TeleGeography, Submarine Cables (database), https://www.submarinecablemap.com/. Data at http://bit.do/WDR2021-Map-5_1.
Charts showing that the percentage of the population with a usage gap has remained high particularly in certain developing regions
'Internet coverage does not necessarily translate into internet use.' Image: WDR 2021 team, based on 2015 and 2018 data in International Telecommunication Union. 2018. ICTs, LDCs, and the SDGs: Achieving Universal and Affordable Internet in the Least Developed Countries. Thematic Report: ITU Development, LDCs and Small Island Developing States Series. Geneva: ITU. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/LDCs/Pages/Publications/LDCs/D-LDC-ICTLDC-2018-PDF-E.pdf. Data at http://bit.do/WDR2021-Fig-5_3.
Charts showing the large inequities in mobile data consumption across country income groups and regions
The consumption of mobile data is affected by various inequalities. Image: WDR 2021 team. Data at http://bit.do/WDR2021-Fig-5_6. Note: Data are for 2018. Figures include averages of 119 economies with data. GB = gigabytes.
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Related topics:
JRS2021Data ScienceDigital CommunicationsFourth Industrial Revolution
Share:
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

How governments can shape markets towards green and inclusive growth

Mariana Mazzucato and Rajiv Shah

June 9, 2021

About Us

Events

Media

Partners & Members

  • Join Us

Language Editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

© 2023 World Economic Forum