Moving the Needle on Universal and Meaningful Access

According to the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU’s) Facts and Figures 2025, an estimated 6 billion people—about three-quarters of the world’s population—are now using the Internet.

Ten years ago, the estimate was roughly 3.2 billion people. Nearly twice as many people today have access to the opportunities the Internet offers, and this is no small feat.

But these numbers also remind us how far we still have to go. 2.2 billion people are still offline. That’s 2.2 billion people unable to fully participate in education, commerce, communication, and innovation that so many of us take for granted.

At the Internet Society, we believe the Internet should be available to everyone, everywhere. And…

Ten years ago, the estimate was roughly 3.2 billion people. Nearly twice as many people today have access to the opportunities the Internet offers, and this is no small feat.

At the Internet Society, we believe the Internet should be available to everyone, everywhere. And the new data underscores exactly why our work must continue with urgency.

Global Inequality Shows Its Face on the Internet

Worldwide growth is strong. The latest ITU report confirms a rise in global Internet use: from 53.9% in 2019 to 73.6% in 2025. But this growth is uneven. The global numbers hide major differences across regions and income levels.

Data from the ITU’s country-level and regional Internet-use indicators show a world moving forward, but at different speeds. Africa, for instance, has grown from around 24% in 2019 to 35% in 2025. A big increase but still lagging behind the global average.

Even with double-digit gains, Africa remains the least-connected region. Meanwhile, the Americas are moving closer to universal access, increasing from 76% in 2019 to 88% by 2025. The leap reflects strong infrastructure, improved affordability, and established broadband markets.

The remaining populations will be harder to reach, as they live in rural, low-income, and isolated areas. This highlights the need for innovative approaches to connectivity, like community-centered connectivity solutions.

The average for high-income countries continues to increase: over 94% of people have access in 2025, and over 87% in 2019. Least developed countries (LDCs), however, have only 33% of their people online. This is due to wider challenges such as lack of infrastructure, unaffordable services, and low digital literacy.

The Gender Divide Is Also Digital

Global numbers show:

77% of men are online 71% of women are online

A six-point gap may seem small, but in population terms, it represents tens of millions of women excluded from digital opportunities. The divide is widest in regions with limited infrastructure, like Africa and LDCs, where women remain least connected.

The Meaningful Connectivity Divide

The global averages also don’t tell the story about how people are using the Internet and the quality of the services they can access.

Although the definition of meaningful connectivity relies on what people’s needs are, we can paint a picture of this divide through the ITU report’s numbers. For example, there are about 3 billion 5G subscriptions globally—about one-third of all mobile broadband subscriptions. But the distribution is deeply uneven: while 84% of people in high-income countries have access to 5G, only 4% in low-income countries do.

These shifts confirm a new kind of divide, not about whether someone is online, but about whether the connectivity is meaningful.

Lack of Affordability and Skills Are Barriers

Even where infrastructure exists and services are available, not everyone has access to it.

The ITU estimates that mobile broadband remains unaffordable in 60% of low- and middle-income countries. Meanwhile, people who access the Internet for the first time lack the digital skills to fully take advantage of it.

This doesn’t even take into account advanced skills, like cybersecurity awareness, online safety, digital content creation, and problem-solving.

How the Internet Society Is Helping Close These Gaps

The data reinforces what we see every day in our work: connectivity must be locally driven, sustainable, and inclusive. To achieve universal, meaningful connectivity, we support:

**1. Community-Centered Connectivity **

We help support remote and underserved communities to build and operate their own networks.

In many LDCs and rural places—exactly where the dataset shows the lowest adoption—community networks remain one of the most effective and scalable solutions. Even in high-income countries, they help reach the people who are hardest to connect, such as those living in rural and low-income urban areas.

Read about connecting a remote Indigenous community in Panama.

A Shared Mission: Universal, Meaningful Connectivity

The Internet Society believes the Internet is for everyone. The 2025 figures show both progress and urgency: billions more people are online, yet billions remain digitally excluded.

With sustained investment, community-driven innovation, and policies that support rather than restrict Internet growth, we can ensure that everyone—regardless of geography, income, or gender—can meaningfully connect.