Geneva, Switzerland, November 6, 2019// – New data released by ITU today reveal that in most countries worldwide women are still trailing men in benefiting from the transformational power of digital technologies.
The report titled: ‘Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2019’ , the first publication in ITU’s new Measuring digital development series , estimates that over half the total global female population (52 per cent) is still not using the Internet, compared to 42 per cent of all men.
Overall, the proportion of all women using the Internet globally is 48 per cent, against 58 per cent of all men. More men than women use the Internet in every region of the world except the Americas, which has near-parity.
ITU data show that while the digital gender gap has been shrinking in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Europe, it is growing in Africa*, the Arab States and the Asia-Pacific region. It is widest in developing countries, especially Least Developed Countries.
“ITU’s Measuring digital development reports are a powerful tool to better understand connectivity issues, including the growing digital gender divide, at a time when over half of the world’s population is using the Internet,” said Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary General.
“ITU statistics help policy-makers and regulators make informed policy decisions to connect the unconnected and track progress at the global level.”
Mobile networks – and the mobile phone gender gap
ITU data show that 96 per cent of the world population now lives within reach of a mobile cellular signal and 93 per cent within reach of a 3G (or higher) network.
In the Americas, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, over 95 per cent of the population is covered by a 3G or higher mobile broadband network. In the Arab States the figure stands at 91 per cent; the Commonwealth of Independent States, 88 per cent; and Africa, 79 per cent.
Of the 85 countries that provided data on mobile phone ownership…
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report
