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

May 14, 2021

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

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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.

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