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Access to IT is not equitably distributed around the globe. There are an estimated two billion people online globally, yet there are 6.9 billion people in the world. Thus only approximately 30 percent of the world’s population is online. As Figure 10 indicates, access to and usage of the Internet is extremely unequal around the world.
Source: World Internet Usage Stats.
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 Figure 11 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 Figure 11 only depicts broadband internet costs—most families in developing countries do not own their own computers, which makes the Internet practically obsolete.
The implications of this gap for developing countries are significant. As one expert points out, “Continuing disconnectedness leaves developing countries less competitive in the newly wired global market place, and less participatory in the now electronically networked global knowledge systems than their more connected OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] neighbors.” Wealth and economic resources truly seems to be at the heart of the issue. Cliff Missen, Director of the Iowa-based eGranary Digital Library, said at a recent UN conference in May 2008, “There is no digital divide – it is an economic divide pure and simple. To improve access and connectivity we have to improve the economy.”
Although developing countries are at a great disadvantage, modern technology does help to close the digital divide more quickly. For instance, the infrastructure needed to deliver telephone lines could be eliminated in many developing countries by simply using mobile communication technologies. Eliminating this stage of the development process offers an opportunity to “catch up” to the countries of the developed world and is often cited as an example of the “leapfrog effect.”