ICT

“This year marks the 25th anniversary of

the ITU Telecommunication Development
Sector. Over the past two and a half dec-
ades, ITU has contributed to the unprec-
edented development of ICTs worldwide
and the wider transformation they have
brought to society. Our new data show
that young people are at the forefront

FACTS AND of today’s digital economy with 70 per

cent of the world’s youth being online.
Today’s ICT development is driven by the

FIGURES spread of mobile-broadband services. The

growth of mobile broadband has largely Brahima Sanou,

2017
outpaced that of fixed broadband, while Director of the ITU
mobile-broadband prices have dropped Telecommunication
by 50 per cent on average over the last Development Bureau
three years. These factors have resulted in
about half of the world’s population get-
ting online and broadband services being
available at much higher speeds.
As ICTs continue to be a key enabler of economic and social
development, ITU has a pivotal role in the global efforts to bridge
the digital divide and in fostering an inclusive digital economy. I am
confident that the discussions at the World Telecommunication De-
velopment Conference 2017, to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina
from 9 to 20 October 2017, under the theme of “ICT for Sustainable
Development Goals”, will contribute to the mapping of results-ori-
ented strategies aimed at hastening the pace of countries towards
the timely attainment of the SDGs and their related targets.”

70% OF THE WORLD’S YOUTH ARE ONLINE

Proportion of youth (15-24) using the Internet, 2017*

In 104 countries, more than 80%

of the youth population are
online.
In developed countries, 94% of
young people aged 15-24 use
the Internet compared with 67%
in developing countries and
only 30% in Least Developed
Countries (LDCs).
Out of the 830 million young
people who are online, 320
million (39%) are in China and
India.
Nearly 9 out of 10 young
individuals not using the Internet
live in Africa or Asia and the
Source: ITU. Pacific.
Note: * Estimates.
YOUTH ARE AT THE FOREFRONT
OF INTERNET ADOPTION
Proportion of individuals using the Internet, by age, 2017*

95.7
89.6 88.4
94.3 The proportion of young people
79.6 81.0 aged 15-24 using the Internet
72.3 70.6 (71%) is significantly higher
67.7 65.9 67.3
64.2 than the proportion of the total
48.0
population using the Internet
43.9 43.7
40.3 41.3 (48%).
30.3
21.8
17.5

Europe CIS The Asia & Arab States Africa World LDCs Developing Developed
Americas Pacific

Total population Ages 15-24

Source: ITU. Note: * Estimates. CIS refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States. Proportions in this chart refer to the number
of people using the Internet, as a percentage of the total population, and the number of people aged 15-24 using the Internet, as a
percentage of the total population aged 15-24, respectively.

Proportion of youth (15-24) Internet users and youth in the population, 2017*

Young people represent almost 37.3

35.1
one-fourth of the total number
27.6
of individuals using the Internet 26.3 25.8
23.4
worldwide. 20.1 21.0 20.3
17.9 16.8
15.7 15.7 15.8 15.9
In LDCs, 35% of the individuals 11.9
13.8
11.5
13.0
11.2
using the Internet are young
people aged 15-24, compared with
13% in developed countries and
23% globally. Africa Arab States Asia & The CIS Europe World Developed Developing LDCs
Pacific Americas

Proportion of youth (15-24) Internet users Proportion of youth (15-24) in the population

Source: ITU. Note: * Estimates. CIS refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States. Proportions in this chart refer to the
number of people aged 15-24 using the Internet, as a percentage of the total population using the Internet, and the number of
people aged 15-24, as a percentage of the total population, respectively.

Proportion of households with Internet access, 2017*

84.2 84.4 In developed countries, the

proportion of households with
70.4
65.3 Internet access at home is
53.6 twice as high as in developing
48.1 47.2
42.9
countries.
Only 15% of households in
LDCs have Internet access at
18.0
14.7 home. In these countries, many
Internet users are accessing the
Internet from work, schools and
Europe CIS The Asia & Arab States Africa World LDCs Developing Developed universities or from other shared
Americas Pacific
public connections outside the
Source: ITU. home.
Note: * Estimates. CIS refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States.
 THE DIGITAL GENDER GAP
PERSISTS
Proportion of individuals using the Internet, by gender, 2017*

The proportion of men using

the Internet is higher than the
proportion of women using
the Internet in two-thirds of
countries worldwide.
There is a strong link between
gender parity in the enrollment
ratio in tertiary education and
gender parity in Internet use.
The only region where a higher
percentage of women than
men are using the Internet is the
Americas, where countries also
score highly on gender parity in
tertiary education.

Source: ITU.
Note: * Estimates. Proportions in this chart refer to the number of women/men using the
Internet, as a percentage of the respective total female/male population.

Internet penetration rate for men Internet user gender gap (%),
and women, 2017* 2013 and 2017*

32.9
Africa 24.9

29.9
18.6
2013 2017
25.3

Arab States 47.7

39.4
20.7

19.2

17.4
17.3

47.9
17.1

Asia & Pacific

16.1
15.8

39.7
11.6
11.0

The Americas 65.1

9.4

66.7
7.9
7.5

5.8
5.8

CIS 69.8
2.8

65.8
Europe 82.9
76.3 - 0.4
-2.6
Africa Arab Asia & Europe CIS The World Developed Developing LDCs
States Pacific Americas
World 50.9
44.9
Source: ITU.
Note: * Estimates. The gender gap represents the difference between the Internet user
82.2 penetration rates for males and females relative to the Internet user penetration rate for
Developed
79.9 males, expressed as a percentage. CIS refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Developing 44.7
37.5
LDCs 21.0
14.1 The proportion of women using the Internet is
12% lower than the proportion of men using the
Male Female
Internet worldwide.
Source: ITU. While the gender gap has narrowed in most
Note: * Estimates. Penetration rates in this chart refer to the number of women/men using regions since 2013, it has widened in Africa.
the Internet, as a percentage of the respective total female/male population. CIS refers to In Africa, the proportion of women using the
the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Internet is 25% lower than the proportion of men
using the Internet.
In LDCs, only one out of seven women is using the
Internet compared with one out of five men.
 BROADBAND IS INCREASINGLY
MOBILE
Growth of mobile-broadband subscriptions, Mobile-broadband subscriptions, 2017*
CAGR, 2012-2017*

World World

Developed Developed

Developing Developing

LDCs LDCs

0 15 30 45 60
0 20 40 60 80 100
% Per 100 inhabitants
Source: ITU.
Note: *Estimates. CAGR refers to the compound annual growth rate.

Mobile-broadband subscriptions have grown more than 20% annually in the last five years and are expected to
reach 4.3 billion globally by end 2017.
Despite the high growth rates in developing countries and in LDCs, there are twice as many mobile-broadband
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in developed countries as in developing countries, and four times as many in
developed countries as in LDCs.

Growth of fixed-broadband subscriptions, Fixed-broadband subscriptions, 2017*

CAGR, 2012-2017*

World World

Developed Developed

Developing Developing

LDCs
LDCs

0 15 30 45 60 0 10 20 30 40
% Per 100 inhabitants
Source: ITU.
Note: *Estimates. CAGR refers to the compound annual growth rate.

The global number of fixed-broadband subscriptions has increased by 9% annually in the last five years and 330
million new fixed-broadband subscriptions have been added.
Higher growth will be needed to bridge the divide between developed and developing countries: there are 31
fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in developed countries against 9 in developing countries.
Fixed-broadband uptake remains very limited in LDCs, with only one subscription per 100 inhabitants.
MOBILE BROADBAND IS MORE
AFFORDABLE THAN FIXED BROADBAND
Mobile broadband prices as a percentage of GNI per capita, 2016

35 Mobile-broadband prices as a
32.4
30
percentage of GNI per capita
halved between 2013 and 2016
25 worldwide.
As a % of GNI p.c.

20 The steepest decrease ocurred in

LDCs, where prices fell from 32.4
15
14.1 to 14.1% of GNI p.c.
11.6
10
8.3 LDCs
6.0
5 Developing
4.3
1.0 World
0 0.7
2013 2014 2015 2016 Developed
Developed Developing LDCs World
Source: ITU.
Note: Based on simple averages including data for 136 countries. Prices are based on entry-level
computer-based mobile-broadband plans with a minimum data allowance of 1 GB per month.

Broadband prices as a percentage of GNI per capita, 2016

Mobile broadband is more

120 3 Broadband Commission target affordable than fixed-broadband
5% GNI p.c.
2 services in most developing
100 Developed countries. However, mobile-
Number of countries

80 73 Developing broadband prices represent

61 (excl. LDCs)
60 more than 5% of GNI per capita
35 LDCs in most LDCs and are therefore
40
44
34 unaffordable for the large
20 43
15
27
1
majority of the population.
0
Mobile broadband Fixed broadband Mobile broadband Fixed broadband
Below 5% Above 5%
Developed Developing (excl. LDCs) LDCs
Source: ITU.
Note: Based on data available for 169 countries. Prices are based on entry-level plans with a minimum data
allowance of 1 GB per month.

Broadband prices in PPP$, 2016

In LDCs, on average, an entry-level

World fixed-broadband subscription is
28.6
2.6 times more expensive than
15.4 Developed an entry-level mobile-broadband
Mobile broadband subscription.
33.4 Developing
41.1 LDCs

53.2

30.5
Fixed broadband Source: ITU.
61.3 Note: Based on simple averages including data for 167
countries. Prices are based on entry-level plans with a
107.9
minimum data allowance of 1 GB per month. PPP$ refers to
prices in international dollars, calculated using purchasing
power parity (PPP) conversion factors instead of market
0 20 40 60 80 100 exchange rates.
 FIBRE DEPLOYMENT IS INCREASING
FIXED BROADBAND SPEEDS IN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed

Developed countries
Developed countries Developing countries
Developing countries
24.0
21.4
20 20
Per 100 inhabitants

Per 100 inhabitants

15 15

10 10
6.0 6.1
4.5 4.1
5 5
1.7 2.0 1.2
0.9 0.8 0.5 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.6
0 0
Breakdown by speed ≥256 kbit/s to <2 ≥2 to <10 Mbit/s ≥10 Mbit/s Breakdown by speed ≥256 kbit/s to <2 ≥2 to <10 Mbit/s ≥10 Mbit/s
NA Mbit/s NA Mbit/s

2015 2016 2015 2016

Source: ITU.

Despite the worldwide increase in high-speed fixed-broadband subscriptions, there remains a lack of high-
speed connections in the developing world, with a penetration rate of 6% (1.6% excluding China) compared
with 24% in developed countries.
Most of the increase in high-speed fixed-broadband subscriptions in developing countries can be attributed
to China, which accounts for 80% of all fixed-broadband subscriptions at 10 Mbit/s or above in developing
countries.

Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by technology, 2016

18.8

DSL Internet subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

Cable modem Internet subscriptions per 100 inhabitants
FTTH/B subscriptions per 100 inhabitants
Other fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants
9.4

8.8
7.0

6.1
5.7

5.5

Developing countries and LDCs are deploying

fibre infrastructure directly, leapfrogging cable
3.8

3.6

2.6

and DSL.
1.6

1.0
1.0

0.9
0.9

0.6

0.6

0.5

However, the proportion of fibre broadband

0.15
0.02
0.04
0.05
0.3
0.2

Europe The Americas CIS Arab States Asia & Pacific Africa subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in developed
countries is twice as high as in developing
countries, and ten times higher than in LDCs.
12.7 The share of fibre in total fixed-broadband
DSL Internet subscriptions per 100 inhabitants subscriptions is highest in the CIS and Asia and
Cable modem Internet subscriptions per 100 inhabitants the Pacific.
FTTH/B subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 8.8

Other fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

6.7

4.7 4.5
3.9
2.8
2.3

0.8 1.1
0.6 0.7 0.7 Source: ITU.
0.07 0.03 0.2
Note: Data refer to early 2016. CIS refers to the Commonwealth of
World LDCs Developing Developed Independent States.
 INTERNATIONAL BANDWIDTH UP
TELECOMMUNICATION REVENUES DOWN
International Internet bandwidth in International Internet bandwidth per
Gbit/s, per region, 2008-2016 Internet user in kbit/s, 2016

250,000
Europe 178
The Americas 91
200,000
CIS 59
Africa
Gbit/s

150,000 51
Asia & Pacific 48
100,000 Arab States 39

50,000 Developed 140

Developing 53
0 LDCs 6
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
0 50 100 150 200
Europe Asia & Pacific The Americas CIS Arab States Africa kbit/s per Internet user
Africa
CIS
Arab States
The Americas International Internet
Asia & Pacific bandwidth grew worldwide by
Europe 32% between 2015 and 2016.
Africa experienced an increase
of 72% during this period, the
Source: ITU.
Note: CIS refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States.
highest of all regions.

Telecommunication revenues, world and by level of development

2 500 Global telecommunication

revenues declined by 4%
between 2014 and 2015, falling
2 000 back to USD 1.9 trillion.
Developing countries saw a
compound annual growth rate
Billion USD

1 500 World
World in telecommunication revenue
Developed
Developed
of 6.6% in the period 2007-2015,
1 000 Developing
Developing whereas developed countries
experienced a contraction of
500
-0.8% during the same period.
Developing countries are home
to 83% of the global population
0
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 but generate only 39% of the
world’s telecommunication
Source: ITU. revenues.
ITU DATA
VISUALISATION
TOOL
•Results of the ICT
Development Index, ITU’s
key benchmarking tool
•Key ICT indicators
•Global, regional and
national comparisons

www.itu.int/IDI2016

ITU 15th World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS),

14-16 November 2017, Tunisia
www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/events/wtis2017/default.aspx

ITU Measuring the Information Society Report 2016

www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/mis2016.aspx

ITU Yearbook of Statistics 2016

www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/yb2016.aspx

ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database

www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/wtid.aspx

For more information:

ICT Data and Statistics Division
Telecommunication Development Bureau
International Telecommunication Union
Place des Nations
1211 Geneva 20 - Switzerland
indicators@itu.int
www.itu.int/ict

Printed in Switzerland
Geneva, July 2017
© International Telecommunication Union