Three-quarters of the world’s population is now connected to the internet, but a new United Nations report warns that the nature of the divide has fundamentally shifted: the question is no longer simply who is online, but how well they can actually use what they have access to.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Facts and Figures 2025 report estimates that six billion people are using the internet globally, up from a revised figure of 5.8 billion in 2024, a net increase of more than 240 million people over the year. Despite the milestone, 2.2 billion people remain offline.
Internet use remains closely tied to income levels. In high-income countries, 94 percent of the population is online, while in low-income countries the figure stands at just 23 percent. For Africa specifically, the average internet penetration rate is only 36 percent, leaving the continent among the most digitally underserved regions in the world.
ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said the nature of the challenge has evolved. “Today’s digital divides are increasingly defined by speed, reliability, affordability, and skills,” she said, warning that being technically connected no longer guarantees meaningful access to digital opportunities.
The report highlights deep contrasts in the quality of that access. A typical internet user in a high-income country generates nearly eight times more mobile data than a counterpart in a low-income country, an indicator not just of usage habits but of the quality and cost of services available to each.
For the first time, the ITU has estimated the total number of fifth-generation (5G) mobile subscriptions, which now account for roughly one-third of all global mobile broadband subscriptions, or approximately three billion users. While 5G networks cover 55 percent of the world’s population, coverage remains heavily skewed: 84 percent of people in high-income countries have access, against just four percent in low-income nations.
Gender and geography continue to define the offline population. Globally, 77 percent of men are online compared to 71 percent of women. In urban areas, 85 percent of people are connected, while rural internet use stands at 58 percent. Ninety-six percent of those still offline live in low- and middle-income countries.
ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau Director Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava said sustained investment in infrastructure, digital skills, and stronger data systems, directed at the communities most in need, will be essential to closing the gap and ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age.
The report also notes that while mobile broadband coverage has become nearly universal in terms of geographic reach, affordability and skills gaps continue to limit how much of that coverage translates into genuine use.
