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Source: World Internet Usage Stats
Access to IT is not equitably distributed around the globe. There are an estimated 2.7 billion people online globally, yet there are 7.09 billion people in the world. Thus only approximately 38 percent of the world’s population is online. As the figure below indicates, access to and usage of the Internet is extremely unequal around the world.
The Internet access gap is partially explained by income levels. In most developing countries, the cost of Internet access, constitutes a much larger proportion of income than in the developed world, as the figure below indicates.
Data source: The World Bank; International Monetary Fund
For China and Turkey, monthly broadband costs are more than $10, which is much higher than the $0.50 average that Americans pay. Furthermore, since broadband adoption is nearly eight percent of China’s and Turkey’s GDPs—it is no surprise that many developing countries have been lagging in adopting the cyberspace. The cost of paying for a couple hours of Internet usage could amount to a day’s worth of work. Keep in mind that the figure only depicts broadband internet costs—most families in developing countries do not own their own computers, which makes the Internet practically obsolete.
Although many individuals think globalization has lead to an increase in global inequality the truth is technology has widened the gap between the rich and the poor in the world. Technology continues to adapt and grow at such an accelerated rate that most countries cannot afford the new technology innovations. The lack of resources hampers country progressions in economics, education, healthcare, and so on.
The chart below shows the changes in the global inequality rate due to the rise of technological progress. The rate at which technology has occurred represents the divide between the rich and poor countries instead of a decrease in the widening gap in the globalized market. Contrary to common belief, economic globalization has helped reduce inequality rather than increase it, especially among the developing countries. The chart also shows how little change globalization has had on the effects of trade and finance in the modern world.
(Jamotte, 2007)