The number of Internet users worldwide is expected to reach 3.2 billion by the end of 2015, according to figures published by the ITU this week.
Unveiled at the UN’s World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, the ITU has drawn comparisons between the state of play in the ICT sector in 2000 – when UN members established the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – and what it is expected to be by the end of this year.
For instance, 15 years ago, global Internet penetration stood 6.5%. By the end of 2015, it is forecast to reach 43%. Meanwhile, the number of mobile connections is expected to exceed 7 billion, up from 738 million in 2000.
Meanwhile, since the ITU started tracking mobile broadband penetration in 2007, it has increased 12-fold and is expected to hit 47% this year.
"These new figures not only show the rapid technological progress made to date, but also help us identify those being left behind," said ITU secretary general Houlin Zhao, in a statement on Tuesday.
Indeed, there remain big discrepancies in penetration rates between the world’s developed, developing, and least developing countries (LDCs).
Today, the number of people living in what are considered to be LDCs stands at 940 million. According to the ITU, of that population, only 89 million use the Internet, corresponding to a penetration rate of 9.5%.
By the end of 2015, 34% of households in developing markets will have Internet access compared to more than 80% in developed markets. In addition, mobile broadband subscription penetration in Europe and the Americas is forecast to reach 78%, while Africa will remain the only region where penetration is less than 20%.
