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Internet A Change Agent: An overview of Internet Penetration and Growth

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DOI: 10.5958/2249-5576.2017.00001.2

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Internet A Change Agent:

An overview of Internet Penetration and Growth across the World
Ramesh Pandita

To Cite: Pandita, R.(2017). Internet a change agent: An overview of internet penetration and growth across
the world. International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology, 7(2), 83-91.

ABSTRACT
The present study seeks to examine the internet penetration and growth across the world
and to look for the reasons of its disproportionate penetration distribution. The study shall
Central Library
prove of great help in understanding the shortcomings involved with the internet
Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah penetration and the possible measures thereof, which can prove handy in making the
University, Rajouri, internet a household name.
Jammu & Kashmir, India The scope of the study is global in nature. The study is based on secondary data, retrieved
from the Internet World Statistics. The data retrieved from the website are updated up to
March 31, 2017, as such may vary with the actual figures by the time this paper is published.
Corresponding Author
Nearly 51% of the global population is still deprived of the internet access, as the internet
Ramesh Pandita
penetration has reached to 49.63% by the end of March 31, 2017. The China, India and the US
rameshpandita90@gmail.com
are the worlds three largest internet using countries with an individual global user share
percentage of 19.60%, 12.38% and 7.69%, respectively. But, in terms of Internet penetration
percentage, India and China still have to go a long way to narrow down their digital divide.
Falkland Islands, Iceland and Bermuda are the leading countries having highest internet
penetration, with an individual penetration percentage of 96.90%, 96.55% & 95.30%
respectively. Internet penetration on average has grown at 12.60% annually during the last
decade, which means by the turn of the year 2020, 76.90% of the global population will be
having access to the internet.
KeyTerms: WWW, Information Technology, Internet Access, Internet Penetration, Language

INTRODUCTION
Transmutation of the world into a virtual village
is no more a notion, but a literal reality. The
TIME LAG internet has not only improved the course of a
Received on : 27.07.16 modern man, but has also helped people to
overcome the existing physical barriers.
Revised on : 22.05.17 Internet if on one hand has woven nearly half
Accepted on : 15.06.17 the global population into a single thread, what
we call as world wide web (www), on the other
Online Access hand, this technological marvel still has to go a
long way in bridging the gap between the
www.ijidt.com technological haves and the technological
DOI have-nots.
10.5958/2249-5576.2017.00001.2
Expansion of Information and Communication
QR Barcode Technology is growing all across the globe at
an alarming pace, even the economic
constraint among the third world and
developing countries is least proving a hurdle
in the path of internet access among the
geographical expanse. People having access
to the internet & its offerings are well aware of
these technological blessings and know very
International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology | April-June 2017 | Vol. 7 | Issue 2
well, how the recourse of life will suffer in the
absence of the internet. IT and ICT has become
an integral part of human life, which by no
means, a modern man can afford to lose.
Access and use of the internet has immensely
influenced and revolutionized the human
dwelling in many ways. Day-in and day-out
people are reaping countless benefits,
including overcoming the constraints of space
and time.
There was a time, when people used to run
from place to place to execute their routine
work, but with the offing of the internet, man
has not just overcome this difficulty by
executing most of his routine work on the
desktop, but has also explored the world
beyond his imagination. Even, it won't be an
exaggeration to say that the internet has
reduced the world to a virtual village, where
access to resources and services has got
83

reduced to one's fingertips. But, the harsh reality is, the
prevalence of this blessing is not uniform across the globe, as the
world is suffering at the hands of the digital divide. The prevailing
digital divide has created a deeper and wider chasm between the
technological haves and technological have-nots. One section of
society, having access to technology and its services has moved
decades ahead of those sections, which are still deprived of this
blessing.
In the present study attempt has been made to analyze this digital
divide in the form of internet penetration and usage across
different continents and countries. There is a considerable
difference between the internet penetration and internet usage.
When we talk of penetration it means the availability of internet
service in a given area with a specific number of people, but
penetration does not mean that all the people living in a particular
area are making use of the internet or have the ability to make use
of the internet. People in such places/areas may also be deprived
of it for the want of resources, lack of knowledge, infrastructure,
technophobia and many more things.
DIGITAL DIVIDE
As is important the proportionate distribution of resources and
services among human beings for the welfare and betterment of
one and all, so is important the proportionate distribution of
information. Society has suffered at the hands of the
disproportionate distribution of information from the very
beginning of civilization, given the fact there is disproportionate
growth and development across the length and breadth of the
world, be it in the form of economy, health, culture, education,
technology or in any other sector. Information divide has grown
one step further, which people in this technological era know as
the digital divide. The digital divide is simply a chasm created
between the information haves and information have-nots by the
technology, whereby one section of society is able to access e-
resources of information to fulfill their information requirements,
while as on the other hand, there is another section of the society,
which is deprived of the same. Inadequate technological
resources and lack of knowledge to use ICT & access to digital
resources are being seen as the foremost reasons of this divide.
Penetration of technology is one of the important parameters to
gauge the digital divide. There is need to make technology
available to the masses to bridge the digital divide. There are
regions across the globe where internet has yet to open its
account, while others have 100% internet access [1,2].
LITERATURE REVIEW
Polarization of the world on the basis of information have and
information have-nots has given a good run to researchers to
study the subject, especially when the lateral group is deprived of
availing all such services and other benefits, which the former half
is availing at their free will. Be it access to online sources of
information or undertaking various other activities, which the
larger half of the global population is still handling manually.
Researchers across globe have studied different aspects of
Information Technology (IT), especially concerning the existing
digital-divide created for the want of internet access.
While studying the detriments of the digital divide and the aspects
of internet penetration across 161 countries during the period
1999-2001 (Chinn & Fairlie) [3] , observed that economic
84 International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology | April-June 2017 | Vol. 7 | Issue 2
DOI : 10.5958/2249-5576.2017.00001.2
disparities are not solely responsible for existing digital divide, but
are equally supplemented by telephone density, use of
computers, internet penetration, human capital and regulatory
quality are a few things which contribute to lower internet
penetration in developing countries[4]. The internet in the
developing countries, was primarily pushed to increase the
growth and productivity (Wallsten)[5], but the poor ICT regulations
come in-between. Wallsten further observes that the internet
cafes are the primary method of internet access to people in
developing countries and suggested that reducing pricing entry
barriers and promoting competition is likely to yield better results.
While drawing the comparison of the seven countries of the world
among different urban cities to assess the internet penetration,
(Kellerman)[6], observed diffusion in the internet penetration and
its access, given the size of the population of a particular country
and the economy. The researcher further observed that compared
to 2.7% internet penetration in the China in 2002 there were
59.3% penetration in the United States in the year 2003, similarly
in 2001 at the Bani Break in Israel, the penetration rate was 3%,
while as, in Seattle it was 81% in 2003. The author is also the view
that the internet penetration will spread with greater speed than
the other conventional technological innovations.
The internet penetration in the United States Maddan, increased
at an average rate of 79% per annum and the PC density increased
by 7.4% per annum observed (Grant & Savage)[7], while
undertaking the study during the period 1989 to 1997. The
authors also observed that during the same period computer
princes in the US declined by 15% to 20%. The increased use of
the internet and the growth in IT infrastructure helped in the
capacity utilization in the US airline industry, observed (James &
Eugene)[8]. The authors further observed that the internet
penetration has helped the US airline industry to have an increase
in load factor and decrease in airline costs by almost $ 2.7 billion
each year, besides giving consumers a better and wider choice to
book tickets by looking at all aspects of services and facilities
available.
Pricing is equally an important aspect related to the access of
internet. The higher internet subscription charges affect its access
negatively, observed (Mann et al)[9], resulting into the digital
divide. Digital inequality is equally an area of concern, when it
comes to the freedom of using internet and accessing the digital
content, as per the freedom of an individual. The existing
disparities in accessing the internet are being referred as digital
inequalities. The equipment, autonomy to use web, skill, social
support, and the purpose are the five dimensions of digital
inequality discussed by (DiMaggio & Hargittai)[10]. As per the Pew
Research[11], in America internet users grew from 25 million to 83
million users during the period 1995 to 1999, while as meagre
11% U.S household were having online access and the number
grew to 26.2% by the end of 1998 and by 2000 the penetration
percentage crossed the 50% mark for individuals in the age group
of 9 to 49 (NTIA)[12][13]
Access to the internet is not an end in itself, Skill is the foremost
aspect associated with the handling of ICT and retrieval of
information and the lack of same becomes a good reason to
promote digital divide, (Harigittai)[14]. The digital divide exists
between the experienced internet users and the novices,
observed (Eastin & LaRose)[15]. In their survey, the researchers
 DOI : 10.5958/2249-5576.2017.00001.2
measured the internet self-efficacy of the users. The authors found society, who deserve to have access to such technological
prior internet experience, outcome expectancies and internet use offing without any disparity.
reflected positive correlation to internet self-efficacy, while as,
stress and self-disparagement reflected negative. Norris [16] in his SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
book on digital divide tired to focus on the root cause of digital The present study is based on the secondary data originally
divide among global economies, resulting into their inequalities. retrieved from the official website of Internet World Statistics on
Norris reflected on the role of the internet and the existing digital
August 07, 2015, accessible at http://www.internetworld
divide between the industrial and non-industrial economies of
stats.com/stats.htm.However, during the revision, reviewers had
the world, which has somewhere resulted in polarization on the
advised to update the data and accordingly, the updated data
world on the basis of information, as information rich and
were incorporated in the study on May 20. 2017. The data upon
information poor countries, which he referred as social divide.
retrieval was in a semi structured form, as such, was first
Norris also highlighted about the democratic divide as an
structured, keeping in view the objectives of the study and the
outcome of the digital divide which gets reflected in the routine
convenience of readers. Simple statistical and mathematical
activities of a society. The role of the internet, by no means can be
expression like, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
undermined in the public life and so has (Warschauer)[17] in his
and the drawing percentage etc were employed during the
book emphasized on the importance of ICT in social inclusion.
analysis of data.
The social standing of an individual, be it with regard to income,
The present study leaves enough scope for future studies in the
employment, education, age and ethnicity plays its own part in
field of internet penetration and other relevant areas, especially
the existing digital divide (Van & Hacker)[18]. Van[19] in his article
the ones who still are deprived of absolute access to the internet.
discussed the research undertaken in the field of the existing
There is a need to study different aspects associated with the
global digital divide during the period 2000-05. The author found
access and use of internet among under-developing, developing
existing inequalities of digital divide relate to access, which he
and developed countries. User education, skill development and
divided into motivational, physical, skills and usage in relation to
training to human resource towards the efficient use of internet
ICT.
are equally important which otherwise most of the time remain
Hoffman & Novak[20] undertook an interesting study, as how far unaddressed and with the result people are unable to make best
the race has a role to play in using computers and accessing the out of the available resources.
internet. The researchers found that as compared to white
Americans, there are the black Americans who expressed more RESULTS
desire towards using computers, while compared to 44% white Tables and figures drawn in the discussion and analysis part are
Americans only 29% black Americans were having computers at although self explanatory, but still to have a better understanding
their homes. The researchers observed that irrespective of race, it and to touch all the minor areas of internet penetration and its
is the income of an individual, which is the prime component access each table has been discussed to the suitability of readers.
involved with owning or not owning a computer and so Percentage at most of the places has been drawn up to two
corresponds education to increased use of computers. However, decimal places, but has not been rounded off as such there may
the researchers found that compared to white students these are appear some minor difference while making cumulative
the African American students who used to seek out different calculations.
means to access internet.
Table1: Penetration and Usage of Internet at
The internet is one of the fastest growing and embraced Continental Level as on March 31, 2017
technological inventions in the history of humankind. This is also Continent Population Internet Penetration Global Internet
for the fact that this technological revolution has taken everything Users %age Share %age
Africa 1,246,504,865 345,676,501 27.73 9.26
into its savvy, be it about the common dwelling methods or the
Asia 4,398,505,246 2,015,788,419 45.83 54.01
access to the outside world, nothing seems to be out of its domain. Europe 822,710,362 636,971,824 77.42 17.07
Given these facts, there is no denial in it that the internet has North 363,224,006 320,068,243
America 88.12 8.58
turned the world into a real virtual village where people have got South
647,604,645 385,919,382
easy access to everything just like they have in their own vicinity. America 59.59 10.34
Oceania 40,479,846 27,549,054 68.06 0.74
World 7,519,028,970 3,731,973,423 49.63 100
OBJECTIVES
More than 3.73 billion people across the world, constituting
§ To find out the internet penetration growth and usage the nearly 49.63% of the global population have access to the
world. internet and make use of it in their day to day activities. At the
§ To assess the internet user share across continents and at the continental level North America is the world's largest continent
having highest 88.12% internet penetration, followed by Europe
country level.
with 77.42% and Oceania 68.06%. Accordingly, the internet
§ To examine the existing gap between the internet haves and penetration in South America is 59.59%, Asia, 45.83% and Africa
internet have-nots with some possible measures to bridge 27.73%. Generally it has been observed that larger the population
this technological divide between the two sections of the of a country or a continent, lesser is the internet penetration

International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology | April-June 2017 | Vol. 7 | Issue 2 85
 DOI : 10.5958/2249-5576.2017.00001.2
100 Nearly60% internet users across the world come from world's top
Penetration %age 88.12
90 ten internet using countries, while the rest 40% users are spread
User Share %age
77.42
80 across 184 countries of the world. These figures also somewhere
68.06
70 reflect the fact that nearly 95% countries in the world access
59.59
60 internet to a lesser degree than, what just the 10 leading internet
54.01
50 45.83 using countries make use of. China is the world's most populous
40 country, having over 1.38 billion people, of which more than 731
30
27.73 million people access internet, constituting 52.69% internet
20 penetration in China. Of the total global internet users, 19.60%
17.07
10 9.26 8.58 10.34 come alone from China, followed by 12.38% from India and
0 0.74 7.69% from United States, with a penetration percentage of
Africa Asia Europe North America South America Oceania 34.42% and 87.89% respectively. Brazil, Indonesia, Japan,
Fig. 1: Graphical Representation of Russia, Nigeria, Germany, and Mexico together constitute nearly
Internet Penetration at Continental Level 20% of the global internet users. Japan has the maximum 93.98%
internet penetration, followed by Germany 88.95% and the US
percentage, but greater is the number of users. This gets better
with 87.89%. China, the largest global internet user and is also
corroborated by the figures, against Asia, which has an internet
the home of 36.28% internet users from the Asia, while 89.65%
penetration of 45.83%, but has highest 54.01% internet user
internet users in North America come alone from the United
share percentage at the global level. Asia is distantly followed by
States. Brazil is the home of 36.04% internet users in the South
the Europe with 17.07%, North America 8.58%, Africa 9.26%,
America, the internet users from Nigeria constitute 27.07% share
South America 10.34%, and the Oceania 0.74%. There is need to
at the continental level. Russia has a 16.41% share percentage of
understand that internet penetration and internet users are all
internet users at the continental level. Among the top ten internet
together two different aspects. The Internet Penetration is more
using countries, 04 come from Asia, 02 each from Europe & from
associated with the availability of technology and its access to North and 01 each from South America & Africa. Population is
people, but this does not necessarily mean that all the people are one of the prime reasons associated with the greater number of
accessing the internet or other ICT products and services. internet users from these countries. Except Germany and Japan
rest of the countries are among the world's top ten populous
Table 2: Top Ten Internet Using Countries in terms of
countries.
Global Share Percentage as on March 31, 2017
Table 3: Top Ten Internet Penetration Countries
Country Continent Population Internet Users Pene- Continental Global
County Continent Population Internet Pene- Lite Conti- Global
tration internet internet Users tration racy nental User
%age user Share user
%age %age Share Share
%age Share %age %age
%age Falkland
China Asia 1,388,232,693 731,434,547 52.69 36.28 19.60 Europe 2,932 2,841 96.90 99 0.0004 0.000076
Islands
India Asia 1,342,512,706 462,124,989 34.42 22.92 12.38 Iceland Europe 317,351 306,402 96.55 99 0.048 0.008210
United North 89.65 North 0.020
326,474,013 286,942,362 Bermuda 69,839 66,557 98
States America 87.89 7.69 America 95.30 0.001783
South 36.04 Norway Europe 5,147,792 4,892,976 95.05 100 0.768 0.131110
Brazil 211,243,220 139,111,185
America 65.85 3.73 Sweden Europe 9,723,809 9,216,226 94.78 99 1.446 0.246953
Indonesia Asia 263,510,146 132,700,000 50.36 6.58 3.56 Denmark Europe 5,569,077 5,270,018 94.63 99 0.827 0.141213
Japan Asia 126,045,211 118,453,595 93.98 5.87 3.17 Netherlands Europe 16,877,351 15,857,959 93.96 99 2.489 0.424922
Russia Europe 143,375,006 104,553,691 72.92 16.41 2.80 Andorra Europe 85,458 80,331 94.00 100 0.012 0.002153
Nigeria Africa 191,835,936 93,591,174 48.79 27.07 2.51 North
Curacao 147,695 138,774 93.96 98 0.043 0.003719
Germany Europe 80,636,124 71,727,551 88.95 11.26 1.92 America
North 21.84 Liechtenstein Europe 37,313 35,000 93.80 100 0.005 0.000938
Mexico 130,222,815 69,915,219
America 53.69 1.87
Rest of the 7,481,050,353 3,696,106,339 49.41 99.038924
Rest of 3,314,941,100 1,521,419,110 world
the World 45.90 40.77 World 7,519,028,970 3,731,973,423 49.63 100
Total 7,519,028,970 3,731,973,423 49.63 100
97.5 3
100 93.98 25 96.9
87.89 88.95 97 96.55
90 96.5 2.489 2.5
80 19.6 72.92 20 96
70 65.85 95.3 2
95.5 95.05
60 15 95 94.78 94.63
52.69 53.69
50.36 48.79 1.5
50 94.5
93.96 94 93.96 93.8
40 34.42 10 94
1
93.5
30
22.92 93 0.5
20 5 0.424922
92.5
10 92 0
6.58 0.001783
0 0

Penetration %age Continental Share %age Global Share %age

Penetration %age Continental Share %age Global Share %age
Fig. 3: Top Ten Internet Penetration Countries
Fig. 2: Leading Global Internet Using Countries In Terms of Population

86 International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology | April-June 2017 | Vol. 7 | Issue 2
 DOI : 10.5958/2249-5576.2017.00001.2
The higher internet penetration does not necessarily mean that the size of the population have a greater correlation.
there may be a greater number of internet users. As is apparent in
Table 5: Population wise top Internet using countries at the continental
the Table-3, that countries having maximum internet penetration level & their internet user share percentage
are the ones which are less populous. The countries with higher
Continent Country Population Internet Pene- Conti- Global
internet penetration have lesser global and continental internet Users tration nental user Share
user share percentage. Eight out of the above ten countries having %age Share %age
maximum internet penetration are from Europe, while as %age
Africa Nigeria 191,835,936 93,591,174 48.79 27.07 2.51
Bermuda and Curacaos are the only countries in the group from Asia China 1,388,232,693 731,434,547 52.69 36.28 19.60
North America. The considerable difference between the Europe Russia 146,267,288 103,147,691 70.52 16.41 2.80
internet penetration percentage and user percentage gets North United
323,995,528 286,942,362 88.56 89.65 7.69
America States
corroborated by the fact that the above top ten countries South
constitute less than 1% of the total global internet users, while as Brazil 206,050,242 139,111,185 67.51 36.04 3.73
America
99.03% come from the rest of the rest of the world. The maximum Oceania Australia 22,992,654 21,176,595 92.10 76.86 0.57
Rest of the
internet penetration can be easily achieved in those countries, World
5,239,654,629 2,356,569,869 44.98 63.15
which are less populous, while as the case is not so, for those World 7,519,028,970 3,731,973,423 49.63 100
countries, which are highly populous.
Table 4: Top Internet Penetration Countries at Continental Level Continental Share %age
Continent Countries Population Internet Pene- Conti- Global 100
Users tration nental Share 90 89.65
%age Share %age
%age 80
76.86
Africa Kenya 48,466,928 37,718,650 77.82 10.91 1.0107 70
Asia Japan 126,045,211 118,453,595 93.98 5.87 3.1740 60
Europe Iceland 334,303 336,367 100.62 0.05 0.0090 50
North Bermuda , ,
70 537 67 950 96.33 0.02 0.0018 40
America 36.28 36.04
South Falkland 30
2,912 2,800 96.15 0.0007 0.0001 27.07
America Islands 20
Oceania Australia 22,992,654 21,176,595 92.10 76.86 0.5674 16.41
10
Rest of
World 7,321,116,425 3,554,217,466 48.55 95.2369 0
Total 7,519,028,970 3,731,973,423 49.63 100 Nigeria China Russia United Brazil Australia
States
Penetration %age
120 Continental Share %age

100 100.62 Fig. 5: Leading Internet Using Countries at

93.98 96.33 96.15
92.1 Continental Level In Terms of Population
80 77.82
Nigeria is the largest internet using country from Africa,
60 constituting 21.12% users from the continent, China is the largest
country from Asia, having highest 40.88% internet users, Russia is
40
dominant in Europe with 15.01% users, US is the leading internet
20 using country from North America having 84.19% users. Brazil
has 49.37% internet users in South America and Australia has
0 79.04% internet users in Oceania. Nearly 28% of the global
Kenya Japan Iceland Bermuda Falkland Australia internet users come from the tabulated six countries alone, as
Islands
Penetration %age 30.55% of the total global population lives in these six countries.
Fig. 4: Leading Internet Penetration Countries at Continental Level
Table 6: Top ten populous Countries and their internet penetration
Kenya is the highly internet penetrated country from Africa
County Continent Population Literacy Internet Pene- Conti- Global
having 77.82% internet penetration percentage at continental Rate Users tration nental Share
level, but constitutes only 10.91% of the total internet users from %age Share %age
Africa and 1.01% users at global level. Accordingly, Japan is the %age

highly concentrated internet zone in Asia, having 93.98% China Asia 1,388,232,693 96.4% 731,434,547 52.69 36.28 19.60

internet penetration with 5.87% users at the continental level and 1,342,512,706 462,124,989 34.42 22.92 12.38
India Asia 72.1%
3.17% users at the global level. Iceland is having 100% internet
United North
penetration, constituting 0.05% user share percentage at the States 326,474,013 - 286,942,362 87.89 89.65 7.69
America
continental level and 0.009% global user share percentage. From Indonesia Asia 263,510,146 93.9% 132,700,000 50.36 6.58 3.56
the North America, Bermuda has the highest 96.33% internet Brazil South 211,243,220 139,111,185 65.85 36.04
92.6% 3.73
America
penetration, but constitutes only 0.02% of the total internet users Pakistan Asia 196,744,376 56.4% 35,835,400 18.21 1.77 0.96
at the continental and 0.0018% users at the global level. Falkland Nigeria Africa 191,835,936 59.6% 93,591,174 48.79 27.07 2.51
Bangladesh Asia 164,827,718 61.5% 66,965,000 40.63 3.32 1.79
Islands have 96.15% internet penetration, the highest in South
Russia Europe 143,375,006 99.7% 104,553,691 72.92 16.41 2.80
America, constituting only 0.0007% users at the continental level North
Mexico 130,222,815 93.9% 69,915,219 53.69 21.84 1.87
with nearly 0.0001% internet users sharing percentage at the America
Rest of the
global level. The top internet penetrated countries from their 3,160,050,341 - 1,608,799,856 50.91 - 43.11
World
respective continents constitute 4.76% of the total global internet
Total 7,519,028,970 86.3% 3,731,973,423 49.63 - 100
users, which again reiterate the fact that internet penetration and

International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology | April-June 2017 | Vol. 7 | Issue 2 87
 DOI : 10.5958/2249-5576.2017.00001.2

Global Share %age 7000 30

internet users (millions)
25 Corresponding Growth %age 5939
6000 25
19.6 24.6
20 4685
5000
20.67 20
15 4000 3696
12.38
14.48 15.01 15
3000 13.63
10 7.69 2497
9.37 1971 10.8 10
3.56 3.73 2000
5 2.51 2.8 1319
1.79 1.87 7.36
0.96 5
1000 719
0
0 0

Global Share %age

Fig. 7: Representation of Internet Penetration at
Global Level during the Last Decade
Fig. 6: Internet User Share Percentage of
Top Ten Populous Countries of the World March 2017 showing the increase in internet penetration of over
347%. Given the average growth of internet users each year up to
Of the total global internet users, 56.89% are from the top ten
2016, by the end of 2020 there will be around 6000 million
most populous countries of the world, while 43.11% users come
internet users across the globe. As per the estimates, in 2020, the
from the rest 184 countries of the world, again corroborating the
total population of the world will be around 7716 million
strong correlation between the population and the internet users
people[14], which also means nearly 76.9% of the global
across countries. China is the largest internet using county in the
population will be having access to the internet by 2020.
world, having 19.60% global user share. China is followed by
India and the United States with their global internet users share During the last decade a sharp decline was recorded in the digital
percentage of 12.38 % and 7.69% respectively. The other leading divide, between technological haves and have-nots. The
internet using countries of the world are Indonesia 3.56%, Brazil penetration of internet in the 2003 from 11% has moved to over
3.73%, Pakistan 0.96%, Nigeria 2.51%, Bangladesh 1.79%, 49% by the end of 2016. But, to bridge the existing digital divide,
Russia 2.80% and Mexico 1.87% where still nearly 51% global populace is deprived of this
technological bliss, there is need to make some concerted efforts
Table 7: Internet Penetration Growth during the Last Decade
at the global level.
Corresponding
Pene- Corresponding Table 8: Top ten Language accessed on the Internet
Internet Growth %age
World tration Growth in
Year Users (in among Global
population %age penetration Speakers Internet Penetration
millions) internet users Language Speakers Share
%age Percentage Users %age
(in millions) %age
2003 719 6,357,991,749 11.1 - - English 1,400,052,373 18.62 948,608,782 67.76 25.42
Chinese 1,415,572,934 18.83 751,985,224 53.12 20.15
2004 817 6,435,705,595 12.7 13.63 14.41
Spanish 450,235,963 5.99 277,125,947 61.55 7.43
2005 1018 6,514,094,605 15.7 24.60 23.62 Arabic 388,332,877 5.16 168,426,690 43.37 4.51
2006 1093 6,593,227,977 16.7 7.36 6.36 Portuguese 266,757,744 3.55 154,525,606 57.93 4.14
2007 1319 6,673,105,937 20.0 20.67 19.76 Japanese 126,464,583 1.68 115,111,595 91.02 3.08
2008 1574 6,753,649,228 23.5 19.33 17.50 Malay 289,702,633 3.85 109,400,982 37.76 2.93
2009 1802 6,834,721,933 26.6 14.48 13.19 Russian 146,358,055 1.95 103,147,691 70.48 2.76
2010 1971 6,916,183,482 28.8 9.37 8.27 French 393,892,299 5.24 102,171,481 25.94 2.74
German 94,973,855 1.26 83,825,134 88.26 2.25
2011 2267 6,997,998,760 32.7 15.01 13.54
Rest of the 2546685654 33.87 917644291 36.03 24.59
2012 2497 7,080,072,417 35.7 10.80 9.17 languages
2013 2804 7,162,119,434 39.0 12.29 9.24 Total 7,519,028,970 100 3,731,973,423 49.63 100
2014 3079 7,243,784,121 42.4 9.80 8.71
2015 3366 7,324,782,225 46.4 9.32 9.43 30 100
2016 3696 7,404,976,783 49.6 9.80 7.54 25.42 91.02 88.26 90
2017 4161* 7,484,325,476* 55.5* 12.60* 11.48* 25
80
2018 4685* 7,562,760,049* 61.9* 12.60* 11.48* 20.15
70
2019 5275* 7,640,244,883* 69.0* 12.60* 11.48* 20
2020 5939* 7,716,749,042* 76.9* 12.60* 11.48* 60
Avg. 12.60 11.48 15 50
43.37
Source: - Internet W orld Statistics http://www.internetworldstats.com/emarketing.htm 40
*Data reflected is tentative only to project the internet users across globe by 2020 10 7.43 30
http://www.geohive.com/earth/his_history3.aspx
4.51 4.14 20
During the period 2003 to 2014, the internet users across the 5 3.08 2.93 2.76 2.74 2.25
10
globe on average during each year have grown at 12.60%. In the
0 0
year 2003 there were 719 million internet users across the globe,
which have reached to 3696 million people by the end of 2016,
which means the internet users since 2003 have grown by 414%.
Global Share %age Speakers %age Penetration %age
Accordingly, internet penetration percentage during the year
2003 was 11.1% and this percentage reached to 49.63% by Fig. 8: Representation of Top Ten Leading Languages Accessed On the Internet

88 International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology | April-June 2017 | Vol. 7 | Issue 2
 DOI : 10.5958/2249-5576.2017.00001.2
With each passing day internet is bound to open new vistas in the Browsing content on the internet is just one aspect of accessing
information world and language is going to be the prime part of it. the information and the speed with which same is accessible to
Language if on one hand unifies people into a common thread at seekers of information is equally an important aspect associated
the same time the same language becomes a divisive force. Given with internet speed. People always find it boring and time
the growing ethnocentric practices, in future more and more consuming, if the content on the internet is not displayed in real
content on the internet will be made available in the regional and time. This real time access to display the content is directly
other vernacular languages and that will increase the access to associated with the internet speed available in a particular region
internet content on the basis of language. As has been worked or a country. Accordingly, the above tabulation reflects the
out in Table-8, 18.83% population across the world speaks world's top ten high speed internet access countries, given the
Chinese and accordingly 20.15% content on the internet is amount of information users can download or upload from the
searched in Chinese language. Needless to say, that China is the internet in Mbps. Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan are the
most populous country in the world, besides Chinese being their world's three leading high speed internet access countries having
national language and is spoken by over 1415 million users. the speed of 54.1, 48.8 and 42.2 Mbps, respectively. The irony is
Accordingly, 18.62% of the global population speaks English and only 5.74% of the total global internet users come from these ten
25.42% content on the internet is searched in English language. leading high speed internet countries, while as the remaining
The other preferred languages used to search the content on the 94.25% users enjoy the internet speed nearly or less than 30.9
internet include, Spanish 7.43%, Arabic 4.51%, Portuguese Mbps. The average internet speed across the world is 5.6 Mbps.
4.14%, Japanese 3.08%, Malay 2.93%, Russian 2.76%, French Internet speed and internet penetration are altogether two
2.74% and German 2.25%. Content from the rest of the regional different aspects, but surely of the same coin. As on date, internet
& other vernacular languages is searched up to 24.59%. Internet speed is not the criteria to evaluate the internet penetration, but it
Penetration on the basis of language is equally an interesting is the availability of internet connection. It won't be surprising, if
aspect to be examined. Accordingly, Japanese is the largest tomorrow internet speed will be set as an important parameter to
language having highest 91.02% internet penetration, followed assess the internet penetration, as the internet availability should
by German with 88.26% & Russian 70.48% internet penetration. not be for the namesake only.
The penetration percentage of other languages is English 67.76%,
Spanish 61.55%, Portuguese 57.93%, Chinese 53.12% Arabic
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
43.37%, Malay 37.76% and French 25.94%. It won't be an exaggeration to say that penetration of internet and
Table 9: Top Ten High Speed Internet Countries across the World
the speed with which it has spread & is continuing to do so and the
way technology is being actually embraced by the global expanse
Pene- Conti-
Speed Global is bound to act as an agent of change in each kind of society.
Language Conti- in Literacy Internet tration nental Share
Population Users
nent Mbps Rate %age Share %age Technology has transgressed deep into the lives of common
%age
masses and the handy electronic gadgets, like mobile phones,
Hong Asia - 0.30
54.1 7401941 6066357 over which people can easily access internet at minimum cost,
Kong 81.96 0.16
South Asia
48.8 50704971
100%
45,314,248
2.24 has interwove the whole world into a common thread. Given the
Korea 89.37 1.21
Asia 42.2 126045211 99.0% 118453595 93.98 5.87 3.17
services and other benefits which internet has extended to
Japan
Latvia Europe 37.5 1944565 99.9% 1663739 85.56 0.26 0.04 common masses at their doorsteps, people are left with no choice
Romania Europe 37.4 19861408 98.8% 11178477 56.28 1.75 0.30 other than embracing the technology with open arms.
Belgium Europe 32.7 11443830 99.1% 10060745 87.91 1.57 0.27
Switzerland Europe 32.4 8236573 99.0% 7,180,749 87.18 1.12 0.19 Africa and Asia are the two weakest links in the present day world
Bulgaria Europe 32.1 7045259 98.4% 4155050 58.98 0.65 0.11 of internet penetration and usage. Most of the households in
Israel Asia 30.9 8323248 97.8% 5941174 71.38 0.29 0.16 Europe, America and Oceania have access to the internet, but the
Singapore Asia 30.9 5784538 96.8% 4,699204 81.24 0.23 0.13
Rest of case is not so, when it comes to Africa and Asia and the reason can
5.6 7272237426 - 3517260085 48.37 - 94.25
world be owed to population of these two continents. When it comes to
World 5.6 7,519,028,970 86.3% 3,731,973,423 49.63 - 100 the global share percentage of the maximum number of internet
Source: http://www.speedtest.net/
users, then Asia alone is the home of 45.83% global internet users
160 3.5 and the remaining 54.17% come from the remaining five other
3.17
continents. Although, nearly 50% of the global population is still
140 3
81.96 81.24 deprived of the internet access, but given the economic and
120 technological constraints involved, supplemented by lack of user
2.5
100 education & unskilled human resource, African populace stands
56.28 2 somewhat more deprived of this technological blessing.
80
54.1 1.5 The population of a country plays a very vital role in its overall
60
internet penetration percentage. More a country is populous,
1
40 30.9 lesser will be the internet penetration percentage, lesser the
37.4 population of a country; higher will be the internet penetration
20 0.5
0.11
percentage. This gets corroborated by the lesser populous
0 0
countries like, Monaco, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Falkland
Islands, Greenland, Luxembourg etc. these countries have an
internet penetration between 90% to 100%. On the contrary
Global Share %age Speed in mbps Penetration %age
countries like China, United States, India, Indonesia, etc. are
Fig. 9: Leading high speed internet countries across world highly populous and have a maximum number of internet users,
International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology | April-June 2017 | Vol. 7 | Issue 2 89

but still in terms of internet penetration, these countries have to go
a long way to reach out their entire population.
In terms of language, English is a major language, which is being
used to access the information on the internet for the simple
reason that English as a language is no more confined to a
particular country or a region. English has more or less become
the global language; as such there is every reason that maximum
number of people all across the world must be using English in
their routine work. Chinese is the second largest language
accessed on the internet for the fact that china is the world's most
populous country and nearly 20% global internet users come
alone from China and in terms of language more than 20% global
internet users access content in Chinese language. More than
75% content on the internet is searched in the world's top ten
internet accessing languages and less than 25% in other regional
and vernacular languages.
Mobile internet access is going to bring boon in the internet
penetration, especially the way service providers are extending
all types of services and features in all these mini handy gadgets.
Of late, people have even started enjoying internet services more
on these hand held gadgets rather the conventional desktop and
laptops. Palm tops in the form of mobile phones and tabs are
growing more popular among younger generation only because
they are able to access internet on such gadgets. Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) and other telecommunication companies are also
moving towards the lesser or non-internet concentrated zones to
earn more and more business. The world has grown more
competitive, day-in and day-out service providers are slashing the
prices for their services, with other added offers to lure more and
more consumers towards them. These offers are somewhat within
the reach of the citizens of weaker economies and as such will
help to increase the internet penetration into lesser internet
penetrated regions, zones, countries and continents.
The digital divide is not merely about having or not-having access
to the internet, but also about the availability of hardware, what
we also call as the tangible part of the technology. If people don't
have the minimum requisite technological infrastructure, access,
penetration or availability of the internet is meaningless.
During the last decade, China has emerged as the largest internet
accessing country in the world, while, the internet penetration in
China has reached to 52.69% of its total population. There are
other populous countries in the world, which have a major share
in terms of the number of global internet users, but when it comes
to penetration percentage, then they still have to strive hard to
reach out their citizens.
The increased use and access of the internet has a substantial
effect on the internet penetration. Lesser the expenses involved in
the access and use of the internet, more people will access it and
this will increase the internet penetration. On the contrary, greater
the expenses involved with the use of internet, lesser will be the
number of internet users and this will affect the penetration
percentage. There are countries in the world, which have
different policies with regard to use of the internet and access of
information. People all across the world do not enjoy the same
amount of freedom while accessing the web, which the experts
are referring as the digital inequality.
90 International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology | April-June 2017 | Vol. 7 | Issue 2
DOI : 10.5958/2249-5576.2017.00001.2
CONCLUSION
Internet has become the order of the day and no country in the
world can afford to remain elusive of the internet access. Given
the benefits, which internet concentrated zones and countries are
reaping as on date, the world is surely suffering at the hands of the
disproportionate distribution of ICT, resulting in polarization of
the world into the technological haves and the technological
have-nots. This existing digital divide is somewhere turning into a
major reason, contributing to the economic and other
backwardness of the countries and regions. In order to have
proportionate growth and distribution of resources and services
and to bail out weaker economies, there is a far greater need that
access to the internet is made available to them.
The ICT rich countries have got somewhere a greater role to play
towards the emancipation of those nation countries, which are
the victims of the existing digital divide. ICT rich countries can
help to raise the tangible ICT infrastructure in all such countries,
be it by providing monetary support, by supplying the equipment
itself, providing technical knowhow, training and skill
development of their human resources and much more.
International agencies like, UN and the global financial
institutions like World Bank & IMF can help a great deal in
overcoming existing barriers of digital divide at the global level.
The time has come, when internet in itself is turning out to be an
agent of change to such an extent, where the rest of the things are
following, which is important to restore the global order.
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