MANILA, Philippines – There are still astounding barriers to Internet connectivity. 

4.4 billion people around the world, with 3.2 billion living in 20 countries, still do not have access to the Internet, a new 120-page study by McKinsey and Company said (executive summary here).  

According to the study India carries 1.063 billion of those unconnected – nearly a quarter of the 4.4 billion without Internet. In contrast, China has 730 million unconnected, Indonesia has 210 million, and the Philippines has 62 million.

Adjusting for size and percentages, however, points to Myanmar having 99.5% of its population without Internet connectivity, followed by Ethiopia with 98% and Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with around 95% each. The United States, by comparison, has 15.9% of its population without Internet.

The study also said that those without Internet face a number of barriers:

• an incentive to using the Internet
• low income and affordability of the Internet
• individual capabilities and digital literacy for Internet use
• a lack of Internet infrastructure to allow for connectivity

In the Philippines, there are medium to high barriers to Internet penetration. Along with Egypt, India, Indonesia, and Thailand, the greatest challenges in the Philippines lie in seeing incentives for Internet use and providing sufficient infrastructure.

Countries with low Internet penetration and a number of noteworthy barriers to getting Internet can have “multi-dimensional bottlenecks when it comes to increasing their Internet adoption,” the study said. – Rappler.com

Global network with network socket image from Shutterstock