MANILA, Philippines – World Internet adoption rates have slowed for the 4th year in a row, with emerging economies still suffering from a lack of Internet connectivity, according to a new report from Internet.org released Wednesday, February 25. 

Internet adoption has slowed down from 14.7% in 2010 to just 6.6% in 2014. The report added, “At present rates of decelerating growth, it won’t reach 4 billion people until 2019.”

While Internet.org noted that 3 billion people are or will be online by early 2015, it still means that only 40% of the world’s population has ever connected to the Internet. Of these, 78% of the population in the developed world is online, compared to just 32% in emerging economies.

The report also divided the barriers in getting Internet to everyone in terms of infrastructure, affordability, and relevance. While more than 90% of the world’s population lives within range of a mobile signal, the cost of access to the Internet is still a problem, especially as incomes vary in specific regions.

Many people are also either unaware of the Internet or lack the means to read the available content because it is not in their language. Internet.org’s findings pointed to a need to have sufficient, relevant content in at least 92 languages to properly reach 80% of the world.

The full report is available here and provides further information for specific issues pertaining to Internet accessibility around the world. – Rappler.com