ITUPublications
Measuring digital development
Facts and figures
2020
International Telecommunication Union
Development Sector
Page2
FactsandFigures2020
ThisneweditionofMeasuringDigitalDevelopment:FactsandFigurescomesatanextraordinarily
challengingtimefortheinternationalcommunity.WiththeCOVID-19pandemicwreakinghavoconlives,
societiesandeconomiesaroundtheworld,manyofourdailyactivitieshavemovedonline,throwingasharp
spotlightonglobalconnectivity.Ifyouarereadingthis,itmeansyouareonline–butwhataboutthebillionsof
peoplestillnotfortunateenoughtobeabletoconnect?
FactsandFigures2020revealsthatpeopleinruralareascontinuetofacegreaterchallengesthanpeoplein
urbanareasintermsofremainingconnectedduringthelockdown,especiallyindevelopingeconomies.Large
swathesoftherurallandscapearestillnotcoveredbymobilebroadbandnetworks,andfewerhouseholdsin
theseareashaveaccesstotheInternet.
Alsoworrying,therolloutofcommunicationsinfrastructureisslowing.Sincegrowthincommunications
infrastructuredeploymentwasalreadyshowingsignsofslowingin2019,itisstilltooearlytotellwhether
growthhasstalledbecauseofthepandemic,orwhetherthereareotherfactorsatplay.
ThisneweditionofFactsandFiguresalsofindsthatmobilecellularsubscriptionshavebeendecliningforthe
firsttimeinhistory,andthatgrowthinmobilebroadbandsubscriptionsislevellingout.Here,asbefore,itis
notcertainifthisaresultoftheCOVID-19crisis:itwillbeinterestingtoseewhathappensoncetheworld
finallyrevertstoamorenormalstateofaffairs.
Onamoreoptimisticnote,ourresearchconfirmsthat,whereconnectivityisavailable,andaffordable,young
peopleareenthusiasticadoptersoftechnologyandhaverelativelyhighlevelsofInternetuse.Whileoverall
justoverhalfoftheglobalpopulationisusingtheInternet,amongyoungpeopleaged15to24thisrisesto
almost70percent.Thisisparticularlyencouraginginviewofthefast-growingyouthdemographicinmuchof
thedevelopingworld,wheredigitaltechnologieshavethepotentialtobecomeamajoracceleratorof
economicgrowthanddevelopmentandanimportantdriverofprogresstowardsthe17Sustainable
DevelopmentGoals.
Iamparticularlypleasedthat,forthefirsttime,thisneweditionofFactsandFigurescontainsstatisticson
SmallIslandDevelopingStates(SIDS)andLandlockedDevelopingCountries(LLDCs),inadditiontoourdata
onthe47UN-designatedLeastDevelopedCountries(LDCs).
Thisimportantnewedition,releasedatatimeofunprecedentedglobaluncertainty,exploreswhatweknow
andcanpredictaboutthoseconnectedandthosenotconnected–butwithsomereservations.Undernormal
circumstances,ITU’sexpertteamofstatisticiansusesthedatasubmittedbyMemberStatesfortheprevious
yeartomakepredictionsforthecurrentyear.However,withCOVID-19profoundlychangingtheuseofdigital
devicesandservices,pasttrendsarelessusefulforpredictingpresentorfuturephenomena(see
‘Methodology’formoredetails).
Nevertheless,progressmadepriortothepandemicwillhaveinfluencedhowwell-prepareddifferentpartsof
theworldhavebeentofacethechallengesposedbyCOVID-19anditsassociateddisruptionstonormallife,
includingthechallengeofswitchingfrom‘physical’to‘digital’.Inthecurrentcontext,thiseditionofFactsand
Figurespresentsamixoffindingsondigitalreadinessandresiliencethatofferanewperspectiveonthe
impactandimportanceofconnectivitytoeverynation’seconomy.
DoreenBogdan-Martin
Director,ITUTelecommunicationDevelopmentBureau
Foreword
Page3
FactsandFigures2020
Contents
Page2
Foreword
Page3
Contents
Page4
Mobilenetwork
coverage
Page5
NetworkCoverage
Rural/Urban
Page6
Householdaccess
toICTs
Page7-8
Internetuse
Page9
Mobile&fixed
subscriptions
Page10
International
bandwidth
Page11
Mobilephone
ownership
Page12
ICTskills
Page13
ICTaffordability
Page14-15
Theimpactof
Covid-19
Page16-17
Methodology
Page4
FactsandFigures2020
Rolloutofmobile-broadband
networksslowingdownin2020
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
World
Africa
ArabStates
Asia&Pacific
CIS
Europe
TheAmericas
Developed
Developing
LDCs
LLDCs
SIDS
4G(43.4%)
4G(40.5%)
4G(82.2%)
4G(97.0%)
4G(88.7%)
4G(97.2%)
4G(80.8%)
4G(94.2%)
4G(61.9%)
4G(44.3%)
4G(84.7%)
4G(61.2%)
3G(31.6%)
3G(35.7%)
3G(10.0%)
3G(28.9%)
3G(33.1%)
2G(18.6%)
2G(12.7%)
2G(11.0%)
3G(24.5%)
3G(7.8%)
3G(8.5%)
2G(9.9%)
Populationcoveragebytypeofmobilenetwork,2020*
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020*
2G
3G
4G
Globally,almost85percentofthe
populationwillbecoveredbya4G
networkattheendof2020.
Between2015and2020,4Gnetwork
coverageincreasedtwo-foldglobally.
Annualgrowthhasbeenslowingdown
graduallysince2017,and2020
coverageisonly1.3percentagepoints
higherthan2019.
Ninety-threepercentoftheworld
populationhasaccesstoa
mobile-broadbandnetwork,lessthan
halfapercentagepointhigherthana
yearago.
Inmostregions,morethan90percentofthepopulationhasaccesstoamobile-broadbandnetwork(3Gorabove).
AfricaandCISaretheregionsfacingthebiggestgap,whererespectively23and11percentofthepopulationhavenoaccesstoamobile-broadband
network.
In2020,Africaachieved21percentgrowthin4Grollout,whilegrowthwasnegligibleinalltheotherregions.
AboutaquarterofthepopulationinLDCsandLLDCs,andabout15percentoftheSIDSpopulationdonothaveaccesstoamobile-broadband
network,comingshortofSDGTarget9.ctosignificantlyincreaseaccesstoinformationandcommunicationstechnologyandstrivetoprovide
universalandaffordableaccesstotheInternetinleastdevelopedcountriesby2020.
*ITUestimate.Source:ITU
Note:Thevaluesfor2Gand3Gnetworksshowtheincrementalpercentageofpopulationthatisnotcoveredbyamoreadvancedtechnologynetwork(e.g.93.2%
oftheworldpopulationiscoveredbya3Gnetwork,thatis8.5%+84.7%).
Populationcoveragebytypeofmobilenetwork,2015-2020*
*ITUestimate.Source:ITU
Page5
FactsandFigures2020
Mobile-broadbandnetworkcoverage:Developing
countries’ruralareasstillpenalized
*ITUestimate.Source:ITU
World
Rural
Urban
Africa
Rural
Urban
ArabStates
Rural
Urban
Asia&Pacific
Rural
Urban
CIS
Rural
Urban
Europe
Rural
Urban
TheAmericas
Rural
Urban
Developed
Rural
Urban
Developing
Rural
Urban
LDCs
Rural
Urban
LLDCs
Rural
Urban
SIDS
Rural
Urban
3G(13%)4G(71%)
4G(95%)
2G(8%)
2G(18%)3G(40%)
3G(23%)
4G(22%)
4G(77%)
2G(10%)3G(34%)
3G(24%)
4G(44%)
4G(76%)
4G(100%)
4G(89%)
4G(100%)
2G(29%)3G(22%)4G(44%)
4G(100%)
4G(89%)
3G(24%)4G(54%)
4G(98%)
4G(100%)
4G(86%) 2G(9%)
3G(14%)4G(70%)
4G(94%)
2G(7%)
2G(19%)3G(37%)
3G(32%)
4G(27%)
4G(67%)
2G(27%)3G(39%)
3G(15%)
4G(25%)
4G(84%)
3G(31%)
3G(21%)
4G(35%)
4G(77%)
Populationcoveragebytypeofmobilenetworkandarea,2020*
Whilevirtuallyallurbanareasintheworldarecoveredbyamobile-broadbandnetwork,manygapssubsistinruralareas.
InLDCs,17percentoftheruralpopulationhasnomobilecoverageatall,and19percentoftheruralpopulationisonlycoveredbya2Gnetwork.
Page6
FactsandFigures2020
Internetaccessathomeinurbanareas
twiceashighasinruralareas
Asimilarpictureemergesforhouseholdswithacomputer,but
sincecomputersarenolongerthemaingatewaytotheInternet,
acrosstheboardthepercentageofhouseholdswithacomputer
issmallerthanthepercentageofhouseholdswithInternet
access.
Theurban-ruralgapisbiggerthoughinhouseholdcomputer
accessthaninInternetaccess.
PercentageofhouseholdswithInternetaccessathomeandwithacomputer,2005-2019*
Internetaccess
World
Africa
ArabStates
Asia&Pacific
CIS
Europe
TheAmericas
Developed
Developing
LDCs
LLDCs
Rural-37%
Urban-72%
6%
28%
38%
74%
36%
70%
66%
81%
78%
88%
50%
74%
81%
87%
28%
65%
10%
25%
14%
46%
Globally,about72percentofhouseholdsinurbanareashadaccesstothe
Internetathomein2019,almosttwiceasmuchasinruralareas(nearly38per
cent).
Theurban-ruralgapwassmallindevelopedcountries,butindevelopingcountries
urbanaccesstotheInternetwas2.3timesashighasruralaccess.
InAfrica,only28percentofhouseholdsinurbanareashadaccesstotheInternet
athome,butthatwasstill4.5timesashighasthepercentageinruralareas,
whichstoodat6.3percent.
Intheotherregionsoftheworld,householdInternetaccessinurbanareasstood
between70and88percent,whileaccessinruralareasrangedbetween37and
78percent.
Percentageofhouseholdswithcomputerand/orInternetaccessathome,2019*
Computeraccess
Rural-25%
Urban-63%
2%
17%
34%
67%
22%
60%
50%
72%
66%
82%
34%
67%
66%
84%
17%
54%
3%
17%
8%
37%
*ITUestimate
Note:InsufficientdataavailabletoproduceestimatesforSIDS.
Source:ITU
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019*
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
57%
47%
Householdswithacomputer,2019*
HouseholdswithInternetaccessathome,2019*
*ITUestimate.Source:ITU
Page7
FactsandFigures2020
Almostseventypercentoftheworld’s
youthareusingtheInternet
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
NumberofInternetusers,billions
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
PercentageofInternetUsers
IndividualsusingtheInternet
World
Africa
ArabStates
Asia&Pacific
CIS
Europe
TheAmericas
Developed
Developing
LDCs
LLDCs
SIDS
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Total
51%
29%
55%
45%
73%
83%
77%
87%
44%
19%
27%
52%
Youth
69%
40%
67%
70%
84%
96%
90%
98%
66%
38%
40%
67%
PercentageofindividualsusingtheInternet,2019*
Attheendof2019,justoverhalfoftheworldpopulationwasusingtheInternet,butthisproportionincreasestoover69percentamongyouth
(aged15-24years).
Thisalsomeansthat369millionyoungpeopleand3.7billionpeopleintotalwereoffline
Indevelopedcountries,virtuallyallyoungpersonswereusingtheInternet.
InLDCs,theoverallshareofpeopleusingtheInternetishalfofthecorrespondingshareforyoungpeople,whichitselfisonly38percentofall
youth.
AsiaandthePacificistheregionwiththehighestyouth/overallratio,implyingthepotentialforolderagegroupstocatchupwithyoungeronesin
thisregionintheirInternetuse.
*ITUestimate.Source:ITU
Note:youthmeans15-24yearoldindividualsusingtheInternetasapercentageofthetotalpopulationaged15to24years.
Source:ITU
Page8
FactsandFigures2020
Internetgendergaplargein
developingcountries
World
Africa
ArabStates
Asia&Pacific
CIS
Europe
TheAmericas
Developed
Developing
LDCs
LLDCs
SIDS
Male55%
Female48%
37%
20%
61%
47%
48%
41%
74%
72%
85%
80%
76%
77%
88%
86%
49%
40%
28%
15%
33%
21%
52%
53%
PercentageoffemaleandmalepopulationusingtheInternet,2019*
World
Africa
ArabStates
Asia&Pacific
CIS
Europe
The
Americas
Developed
Developing
LDCs
LLDCs
SIDS
2013
0.89
2019
0.87
0.79
0.54
0.81
0.77
0.83
0.86
0.92
0.97
0.91
0.94
1.00
1.01
0.94
0.98
0.84
0.83
0.70
0.53
0.64
1.03
GenderParity(0.98-1.02)
GenderParity(0.98-1.02)
GenderParity(0.98-1.02)
GenderParity(0.98-1.02)
GenderParity(0.98-1.02)
GenderParity(0.98-1.02)
GenderParity(0.98-1.02)
GenderParity(0.98-1.02)
GenderParity(0.98-1.02)
TheInternetusergenderparityscore(%),2013and2019*
In2019,itisestimatedthatglobally55percentofthemalepopulationwasusingtheInternet,comparedwith48percentofthefemalepopulation.
Thattranslatesintoagenderparityscoreof0.87,wherethetargetistotalparity,meaningavalueof1.
Since2013,thegenderparityscorehasdecreasedslightly,althoughnotasseverelyashadbeenreportedlastyear,owingtotheavailabilityofnew
dataforarangeofcountries,includingreviseddata.ThisnewdataalsoindicatesthatglobalInternetusewasalittlelowerthanpreviouslythought.
*ITUestimate.Source:ITU
*ITUestimate.-Source:ITU
Note:ThegenderparityscoreiscalculatedastheproportionofwomenwhousetheInternetdividedbytheproportionofmen.AvaluesmallerthanoneindicatesthatmenaremorelikelytousetheInternetthan
women,whileavaluegreaterthanoneindicatestheopposite.Valuesbetween0.98and1.02reflectgenderparity.
Page9
FactsandFigures2020
Mobile-cellularsubscriptionsdecliningin2020
Thetotalnumberof
mobile-cellulartelephone
subscriptionsdeclinedforthefirst
timeinhistory.
Furtherresearchisneededto
understandwhetherthisis
causedbythedisruptionsrelated
totheCOVID-19pandemic,or
whetherthiscanbeexplainedby
othersocio-economicforces.
Inthemiddleof2020,therewere
anestimated105mobile-cellular
subscriptionsper100inhabitants,
downfrom108in2019.
Thisdeclinewasdrivenby
developingcountries,wherethe
numberofsubscriptionswent
downfrom103in2019to99in
themiddleof2020.
Indevelopedcountriesthough,
thetrendwasstillupwards.
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020*
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Mobile-broadband
16.4%
Fixed-broadband
7.0%
Mobile-cellular
3.4%
Mobile-broadband
20.9%
Fixed-broadband
11.5%
Mobile-cellular
2.1%
Mobile-broadband
10.7%
Fixed-broadband
2.9%
Mobile-cellular
2.1%
Mobile-broadband
6.7%
Fixed-broadband
5.7%
Mobile-cellular
2.8%
Mobile-broadband
1.1%
Fixed-broadband
2.7%
Mobile-cellular
-2.6%
Mobile-cellulartelephonesubscriptionsper100inhabitants,bydevelopmentstatus
Thenumberofactive
mobile-broadbandsubscriptions
stoodat75per100inhabitantsin
2020.
Aftersubstantialgrowthin
previousyears,thiswasonly1.1
percenthigherthanin2019.
Growthinfixed-broadband
subscriptionssloweddownas
well,to2.7%in2020.
TheCISregionhasthehighest
numberofmobile-cellular
subscriptions,whileEuropeand
theAmericasleadthewayin
mobile-broadband.
Thegapsbetweentheregions
arelargestforfixed-broadband
subscriptionsandsmallestfor
muchlargerfor
mobile-broadbandsubscriptions
thanformobile-cellular
subscriptions.
World
Africa
ArabStates
Asia&Pacific
CIS
Europe
TheAmericas
Developed
Developing
LDCs
LLDCs
SIDS
100
125
75
33
60
77
88
99
65
33
37
54
15
15
20
33
21
34
12
1
8
1
3
8
105
105
148
123
111
133
82
98
99
74
79
86
Mobile-cellular,fixed-broadbandandactive-mobilebroadbandtelephonesubscriptionsper100inhabitants,2020*
*ITUJune2020estimate.Source:ITU
Globalyear-on-yeargrowthinthenumberofsubscriptionsper100inhabitants,%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020*
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
Developing
LLDCs
SIDS
LDCs
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020*
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
SIDS
LLDCs
Developing
LDCs
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020*
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
LLDCs
Developing
LDCs
SIDS
Mobile-cellulartelephone Fixed-broadband Active-mobilebroadband
*ITUJune2020estimate.Source:ITU
Mobile-cellulartelephoneActive-mobileboradband Fixed-broadband
*ITUJune2020estimate.Source:ITU
World
World
World
Developed
Developed
Developed
Page10
FactsandFigures2020
Internationalbandwidthusagecontinues
togrowduringCOVID-19crisis
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020*
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
TheAmericas
Europe
Asia&Pacific
Internationalbandwidthbyregion,Tbit/s**
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020*
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Developing
Developed
Internationalbandwidthbydevelopmentstatus,Tbit/s**
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020*
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
LLDCs
SIDS
LDCs
Internationalbandwidthbydevelopmentstatus,Tbit/s**
Internationalbandwidthusagegrowthacceleratedin2020.
AsnetworksaroundtheworldwereputtothetestduringtheCOVID-19pandemic,increasedInternettrafficfirstcausedfirstatemporarydropinspeed
inmanycountries,butinternationalbandwidthusageisestimatedtohavegrowngloballyby38percent,exceedingthegrowthrateofthepreviousyear
by6percentagepoints.
ThehighestinternationalbandwidthuseoccursinAsiaandthePacific,withover300Terabitpersecond,followedbyEurope(over150Tbit/s)andthe
Americas(over140Tbit/s).
Growthofinternationalbandwidthusageindevelopingcountriesoutstrippedgrowthindevelopedcountries.
Amongspecialregions,highestgrowthcanbeobservedintheLLDCs.
*ITUestimatebasedoninformationforthefirsthalfof2020.Source:ITU.
**1Terabit=1’000’000Megabit.
*ITUestimatebasedoninformationforthefirsthalfof2020.SourceITU.
**1Terabit=1’000’000Megabit.
*ITUestimatebasedoninformationforthefirsthalfof2020.SourceITU.
**1Terabit=1’000’000Megabit.
Africa
ArabStates
CIS
Other
Economies
Page11
FactsandFigures2020
Mobilephoneownershipwidespread,
butgenderdisparitiesremain
©2020Mapbox©OpenStreetMap
Genderparityscoreformobilephoneownership,2017-2019*
©2020Mapbox©OpenStreetMap
<50
50-59
60-69
70-79
80-89
>90
8economies
11
14
30
5
5
In8economiesoutofthe73forwhichdataare
available,lessthanhalfthepopulationownsa
mobilephone.
Ontheotherhand,in44economies,morethan
four-fifthsofthepopulationownsamobilephone.
InparticularinanumberofArabcountries,virtually
everyonepossessesone.
Percentageofindividualsowningamobilephone,latestyearin2017-2019
Source:ITU
<0.8
0.8-0.9
0.9-0.98
0.98-1.02
1.02-1.1
>1.1
7economies
12
31
10
7
1
Ownershipofmobilephoneshasbeenshowntobe
animportanttooltoempowerwomen.
Inalmostonethirdoftheeconomiesforwhichdata
areavailable(31outof69),women’smobilephone
ownershipisclosetoparitywiththatofmen.
In12ofthese69economies,theproportionof
womenowningamobilephoneislargerthanthe
proportionofmen,whilethereare26countriesfor
whichmalemobilephoneownershipissubstantially
higherthanthatofwomen.
*Thegenderparityscoreiscalculatedastheproportionofwomenwhoownamobilephonedividedbytheproportionofmenwhoowna
mobilephone.Avaluesmallerthan1indicatesalargerproportionamongmenthanamongwomen.Avaluegreaterthan1indicatesthe
opposite.Valuesbetween0.98and1.02reflectgenderparity.
Note:Thedesignationsemployedandthepresentationofmaterialonthetwomapsabovedonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinion
whatsoeveronthepartofITUandoftheSecretariatoftheITUconcerningthelegalstatusofthecountry,territory,cityorareaorits
authorities,orconcerningthedelimitationofitsfrontiersorboundaries.ThebasemapistheUNmapdatabaseoftheUnitedNations
CartographicSection.
Source:ITU
Page12
FactsandFigures2020
LowICTskillsremainabarriertomeaningful
participationinadigitalsociety
©2020Mapbox©OpenStreetMap
PercentageofpeoplewithbasicICTskills,latestyearavailablein2017-2019
©2020Mapbox©OpenStreetMap
PercentageofpeoplewithstandardICTskills,latestyearavailablein2017-2019
©2020Mapbox©OpenStreetMap
PercentageofpeoplewithadvancedICTskills,latestyearavailablein2017-2019
0-20%
15
economies
20-40%
17
40-60%
34
60-80%
20
Distributionofeconomiesaccordingtothe
proportionoftheirpopulationhavingbasicskills
0-20%
32
economies
20-40%
29
40-60%
21
60-80%
3
Distributionofeconomiesaccordingtothe
proportionoftheirpopulationhavingstandardskills
0-5%
42
economies
10-15%
8
15-50%
4
5-10%
29
Distributionofeconomiesaccordingtothe
proportionoftheirpopulationhavingadvancedskills
InsufficientskillsareoftenmentionedasanimpedimenttoeffectiveICT
use.
Becauseself-reportingofindividuals’ICTskillsmaybesubjective,ICT
skillsaremeasuredbasedonwhetheranindividualhasrecently
performedaparticularactivitythatrequiresacertainlevelofskills.Forthis
reason,ICTskillstatisticsreflectunderlyinglevelsofICTuseineach
country.
In40percentofthecountriesforwhichdataareavailable,lessthan40
percentofindividualsreportedhavingcarriedoutoneoftheactivitiesthat
composebasicskillsinthelastthreemonths,e.g.sendingane-mailwith
anattachment.
In70percentofthecountries,lessthan40percentofindividualshad
doneoneofthestandardskillscomponents,suchascreatingan
electronicpresentationwithpresentationsoftware.
Inonly15percentofthecountrieshadmorethan10percentof
individualswrittenacomputerprogramusingaspecializedprogramming
languageinthelastthreemonths.
Theavailabledataindicatesthattherearelargedifferencesinskilllevels
betweendifferentagegroups,andbetweenoccupations,butrelatively
smallerdifferencesbetweenmenandwomen,especiallyatyounger
ages.
Source:ITU.
Note:ThedesignationsemployedandthepresentationofmaterialonthethreemapsabovedonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepartofITUandoftheSecretariatoftheITUconcerningthelegal
statusofthecountry,territory,cityorareaoritsauthorities,orconcerningthedelimitationofitsfrontiersorboundaries.ThebasemapistheUNmapdatabaseoftheUnitedNationsCartographicSection.
Page13
FactsandFigures2020
ICTservicesbecomemoreaffordable,but
barrierstoInternetuptakeremain
AffordabilityofICTservicesincreasing,butbarrierstoInternetuptakeremain
0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% 10% 11% 12% 13% 14%
World
Africa
ArabStates
Asia&Pacific
CIS
Europe
TheAmericas
Developed
Developing
LDCs
LLDCs
SIDS
Mobilevoice4.3%
Mobiledata4.3%
12.0%
11.4%
2.9%
4.1%
2.5%
2.7%
1.0%
2.2%
0.9%
0.8%
3.2%
2.9%
0.9%
0.8%
5.3%
5.5%
12.1%
12.1%
9.1%
8.7%
4.1%
4.5%
Broadbandcommissionaffordabilitytarget
(2%)
Mobile-voiceandmobile-databasketpricesasa%ofGNIp.c.,2019
Activemobile-broadband
subscriptionsper100inhabitants
Developed Developing LDCs
IndividualsusingtheInternet(%)
Developed Developing LDCs
Mobile-cellulartelephone
subscriptionsper100inhabitants
Developed Developing LDCs
122
75
33
87
47
19
129
104
75
Mobile-cellularsubscriptions,Activemobile-broadbandsubscriptionsandInternet
users,bylevelofdevelopment,2019*
Averagepricesforthemobile-voicebasket
andthemobile-databasketareverysimilar,
acrosslevelsofdevelopmentandregions,
butduetothevastdisparitiesinpurchasing
power,mobiletelephonyandInternetaccess
remainstooexpensiveformanyinthe
developingworld.
In2018,theUNBroadbandCommissionfor
SustainableDevelopmentsetasatargetfor
2025thatentry-levelbroadbandservices
shouldbemadeaffordableindeveloping
countries,correspondingtolessthan2per
centofmonthlyGNIp.c.
Theaveragecostofamobile-databasketof
1.5GBindevelopingcountries,LDCs,LLDCs
andSIDSwassubstantiallyabovethistarget.
Thegapsinthemobilebroadbandadoption
andInternetusebetweendevelopedand
developingcountriesaremuchlargerthan
thegapinmobile-cellularuptake,andeven
moresobetweenLDCsanddeveloped
countries.
Thissuggeststhataffordabilityisjustone
amongmanyfactorshamperingInternet
uptakeindevelopingcountriesandLDCs.
RefertoMeasuringdigitaldevelopment:ICT
PriceTrends2019formoreinformation.
0-1
1-2
2-5
5-10
10-20
>20
61economies
34
48
20
11
9
Costofadata-onlymobilebroadbandpackage,asa%ofGNIp.c.,2019
Source:ITU
Source:ITU
Note:seemapnoteonpreviouspage.
©2020Mapbox©OpenStreetMap
Page14
FactsandFigures2020
TheimpactofCOVID-19:anecdotal
evidencefromselectedcountries
COVID-19:AnecdotalCountryevidencefromselectedcountries
TheCOVID-19pandemichascausedanumberofchallengesto
statisticaloperationsincountries.
Inadditiontoproblemssuchasstaffsickness,andlockdowns,thereare
alsoproblemsspecifictomeasuringpeople’sICTuse:thisshould
normallybeachievedviaface-to-faceinterviews,sincecontacting
intervieweesviaICTs(phoneorInternet)couldbiastheresultsobtained.
However,face-to-facesurveyshavebeencancelledinmanycountries
forhealthreasons.
Moreover,useofICTsisoneofthekeywaysinwhichpeoplecan
overcomeormitigatesomeofthechallengesfacedduringthepandemic,
sochangestopeople’sbehaviourregardingtheirICTuseareanticipated,
thoughdifficulttoaccuratelypredictinadvance.
Nevertheless,somecountrieshavepublisheddatashowingcertain
impactsofCOVID-19,albeitthatgiventheconstantlyevolving
circumstances,theseresultsmayonlyreflectthesituationineach
countryatthespecificmomentthatthedatawascollected.
Thisnon-exhaustivecollectionofresultsprovidesomeglimpsesofsome
oftheimpactsoccurringthisyear.
Austria:IndividualsusingtheInternetforcallsorvideocalls(%)
©Mapbox©OSM
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
InAustria,thepercentageofindividuals
usingtheInternettomakeaudioor
videocallsjumpedfrom41to60per
centbetween2019and2020.
Note:Individualsaged16to74years
Source:StatisticsAustria
Brazil:Selectedonlineactivities(%ofInternetusers)
Buyingproductsorservicesonline
Consulting,makingpaymentsor
otherfinancialtransactions
Distancecourse
Performedsomepublicservice*
PersonalstudyontheInternet
Schoolactivitiesorresearch
Searchingforhealthinformation
Workactivities
66%
44%
71%
42%
36%
33%
16%
13%
54%
36%
33%
55%
45%
42%
46%
43%
45%
72%
55%
54%
49%
41%
40%
©Mapbox©OSM
InBrazil,abigincreasewasreportedin
Internetuserssearchingforhealth
information;performingsomeformof
publicservice;consulting,making
paymentsorconductingotherfinancial
transactions;andbuyingproductsor
servicesonlinein2020.
*Dataforhouseholdsurvey2018and2019havea
12-monthreferenceperiod,whilethereferenceperiodfor
theCOVID-19panelwasthreemonths.
Internetusersaged16yearsandover.
Source:CETICBrazil
Householdsurvey2018 Householdsurvey2019 ICTpanelCOVID-19
Austria
Brazil
Page15
FactsandFigures2020
TheimpactofCOVID-19:anecdotal
evidencefromselectedcountries
Ireland:SelectedactivitiesontheInternetofInternetusers(%)
©Mapbox©OSM
Buyingfood
orgroceries
online
Buying
furniture,
home
accessories
orgardening
products
Communicati
ngwithinstru
cto..
Purchaseof
ticketsfor
culturalor
otherevents
Seeking
health
information
Usinge-mail
Using
Internet
telephony
January2020
March2020
74%
72%
90%
86%
72%
60%
23%
39%
13%
7%
16%
10%
13%
6%
InIreland,morethanoneineight(13percent)
InternetuserssurveyedinMarch2020made
purchasesonlineoffoodordrinkfromshops
ormeal-kitproviders,morethantwicethe
correspondingfigureforJanuary(6percent).
Note:Individualsaged16to74years
Source:CentralStatisticsOfficeIreland
Norway:SelectedactivitiesontheInternetofindividualsinNorway(%)
2016 2018 2020
Bought/ordered
clothes/sportsgoods
Bought/orderedfilms/music
Bought/orderedtravelor
holidayaccomodation
UseofInternetlast3
months
UsedtheInternetfor
banking
UsedtheInternetfore-mail
UsedtheInternetforselling
goodsorservices
40%
33%
54%
96%
90%
90%
29%
45%
41%
61%
96%
92%
93%
31%
38%
53%
34%
97%
93%
92%
31%
©Mapbox©OSM
InNorway,thepercentageofindividuals
whoboughtororderedfilmsormusic
online,increasedfrom41percentin2018
to53percentin2020,whilethe
correspondingfigureforbuyingorordering
travelorholidayaccommodationdecreased
from61to34percent.
Note:Individualsaged16to79years
Source:StatisticsNorway
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep.
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
2020
2019
©Mapbox©OSM
Italy:Averagedailydatatrafficonfixednetworks(download+upload),petabytes
InItaly,theaveragedailydatatrafficonfixed
networksincreasedby44.4percentin2020
comparedwith2019,withspikesinMarchand
April2020,whenthecountrywentintoa
nationallockdown.Formobilenetworks,the
increaseintheaveragedailydatatrafficwas
56.4percent.
Source:Agcom,Italy
Ireland
Norway
Italy
Page16
FactsandFigures2020
Methodology
Mobilepopulationcoverage(2G/3G/4Gandabove)–end2020estimates
Theindicatorpercentageofpopulationcoveredbyamobilesignal(2G/3G/4Gandabove)inurbanorruralareasreferstothe
percentageofacountry’sinhabitantsthatlivewithinurbanorruralareasandareservedbyamobiletelephonesignal(2G/3G/4Gand
above),irrespectiveofwhethertheyusetheservice–eitherasasubscriberorauserwhoisnotasubscriber.Theindicatormeasures
thetheoreticalabilitytousemobilecellular(ormobilebroadband)services,nottheactualuseorlevelofsubscription.
Theindicatorpercentageofpopulationcoveredbyamobilesignal(2G/3G/4Gandabove)inurbanorruralareasindicatorisbasedon
theindicatorpercentageofthepopulationcoveredbyamobilesignal,whichiscollectedbyITUaspartofalargecollectionof
telecommunicationindicators.Dataarecollectedfromtelecommunicationsoperatorsand,formostcountries,aggregatedatthenational
levelbytelecommunication/ICTregulatorsandMinistrieswhoprovideinformationannuallytoITU.Theindicatoriswidelyavailablefor
bothdevelopedanddevelopingcountries.Dataarealsoavailableforanumberofyears,thusprovidingusefulinformationonassessing
theevolutionofmobilenetworksovertime.
Whilethesplitofthisindicatorintourbanandruralisnotcollectedbymostcountries,thedatawereestimatedbasedontheassumption
thatpopulationsinurbanareasareallcoveredbyamobilesignal.Usingthepercentageofpopulationlivingininurbanareaspublished
bytheWorldBank,the2020dataontheruralpopulationcoveragebymobilesignalwereestimatedbysubtractingtheurbanpopulation
fromthecountry’stotalpopulationcoveredbyamobilecellularsignal.
Finally,the2020dataontheproportionofruralpopulationcoveredbyamobilecellularsignal(2G/3G/4Gandabove)wereestimatedby
dividingthenumberofruralinhabitantswithinrangeofamobilecellularsignalbythetotalruralpopulationandthenmultiplyingby100.
Internetaccessanduseestimates
Oneofthemainchallengesintheestimationofglobalandregionalfiguresforindividuals’Internetuse,andhouseholdsaccessto
computersandInternet,isthatfortheseindicators,werelyuponhouseholdinterviewsurveysasthesourceforthesedata.Ingeneral,
thenumberofeconomieshavinghouseholdsurveydataonICTaccessandusetendstobelowerthanfortelecomsindicators,because
relativelyfewcountriesconductsuchsurveys,owingtotheircostandthecomplexityoftheirimplementation.
Inaddition,theavailabledataoftenrefertoatimeperiodoneormoreyearsbeforehand.ThisisimportantinthecontextofICTstatistics,
becauseoftherelativelyrapidpaceofchangeinthisdomaincomparedtoothersocialstatisticsderivedfromsurveys.Forthese
reasons,themeasurementofhouseholdICTstatisticsissomewhatlikehittingamovingtarget,whichinturnmotivatestheuseof
forecastingapproachestoestimatecurrentInternetusefrompreviousyears’surveydata.
Oneofthemainassumptionsofforecastingmethodsisthatfuturetrendstendtomirrorpasttrendsfortheindicatorinquestion.
However,asismentionedelsewhereinthisreport,theglobalcoronaviruspandemicappearstohavedisruptedsomeofthenormal
patternsandtrendsinICTstatistics.Itisalsointuitivethatpeople’sbehaviourinusingICTS(ornotusingthem)maychangeinreaction
tothenewsituation,giventhatICTsofferawayofovercomingthesechallenges,suchasworkingorlearningwithoutphysicalcontact
withotherpeople.Onthegroundsthatastepchangeintheseindicatorsmayoccurin2020,whichcannotbequantifiedbeforehandin
itsmagnitude,thedecisionwasmadetoestimatevaluesupto2019(pre-COVID),ratherthanattemptingtoproduceestimatesfor2020.
Theestimationworkwasseparatedintoworktoestimateoverallvalues(withoutsubdivision)of:
-TheproportionofindividualsusingInternet;
-TheproportionofhouseholdswithInternetaccess;and
-Theproportionofhouseholdswithacomputer.
Foreachoftheseindicatorsforeacheconomy,thedatavaluesupto2019wereusedifavailable(withanybreaksintheseriesof
valuesbeinginterpolated).Ifnot,thendatafrombeforewereusedtoseparatelyforecastto2019foreachoftheseindicatorsforeach
country.ThedatausedtoaccomplishthiswereobtainedfromofficialITUdatacollectedfromitsmembers,aswellasdatafromother
sources,includingMultipleIndicatorClusterSurveys,DemographicandHealthSurveys,andfromthesurveysofResearchICTAfrica,
LIRNEAsia.
Basedontherealdatapointsorestimates,multiple-countryaggregatevaluesfortheseindicatorsarecalculatedbasedonaweighted
averageofthevaluesforindividualcountries.InthecaseofInternetusetheweightingwasthepopulationofeacheconomy,whilefor
theproportionofhouseholdswithInternetorcomputer,theweightingwasthenumberofhouseholdsineacheconomy.
Thesubdivisionsoftheseoverallvaluesintodifferentbreakdownswereestimatedseparately.Tosubdividetheindicatorsonhouseholds
withInternetandwithcomputerbylocationbreakdown(urbanorrural),availabledataontheproportionofhouseholdswithInternet(or
computer)inurbanareas(%u)andruralareas(%r)isusedtocomputetheratioofthesetwofigures(i.e.,%u/%r),andthisquantityis
estimatedforthoseremainingcountrieswithoutrealdata.Thisratioisthencombinedwithdataoncountries’numbersofhouseholds
andtheirurbanisationtoderiveestimatedvaluesfor%uand%rseparately,aswellasthenumberofhouseholdswithaccess(toa
computerorInternet).Globalandregionalresultsarecalculatedbyweightingthefiguresforindividualcountriesbythenumberof
householdsineachcountry.
Forthesubdivisionofindividual’sInternetuse(bymale/femaleandyouth/overall)isestimatedbythesameprocessdescribedabovefor
thehouseholdaccessindicators,althoughtheweightingofaggregateresultsisbasedonthecountries’populationfiguresratherthan
thenumberofhouseholds.
Page17
FactsandFigures2020
Methodology
Mobile-cellular,mobile-broadbandandfixed-broadbandsubscriptionestimates
June2020dataonsubscriptionswerecompiledfromdatapublishedonregulators’andministries’websiteaswellasdatapublishedby
thecountry’smainoperators,intermsofsubscriptions.Whenthedataofthemainoperatorofthecountrywasused,theoperator
reportednumberofsubscriptionswasdividedbyitsmarketsharetoobtainthetotalnumberofsubscriptionsinthecountryfora
particularservice.Intheabsenceofannualreports,subscriptiondatawereestimatedfromindustryanalysesandnewsarticlesissued
bytheoperatorthroughitspressreleases,orbyleadingnewspapersinthecountry.
Datafromthesesourcesincludetheabsolutenumberofsubscriptions,marketshares,penetrationandgrowthrates,whichwereusedto
derivethecountryestimatesusingthesamemethodappliedtooperators’data.Forcountrieswheredataarenotavailablefrom
administrativesourcesofthecountryorfromannualandindustryreports,subscriptionsdatawereestimatedusingunivariatetimeseries
analysesappliedtothedatafromthelast10years.
Theunivariatetimeseriesanalysesweredonebydecomposingthetimeseriesofpenetrationdataofaparticularservicetoitstrendand
residualcomponenttoobtaintheautoregressiveintegratedmovingaverage(ARIMA)models.TheresultingARIMAmodelswereused
tomakethe2020pointpredictionforeachcountryandservice.
Internationalbandwidthusageestimates
Thebasicassumptionoftheestimationisthatinternationalbandwidthisafunctionoftotalbandwidthdemandinacountry,whichmay
becomputedbymultiplyingthenumberofInternetusersbytheiraveragebandwidthuse.Sinceveryfewcountriespublishmonthly
statisticsoninternationalbandwidthusageandgiventheextraordinarynatureofInternetactivityin2020duetotheCOVID-19
pandemic,theestimationsmadeuseofproxyindicators.ITUstatisticsonfixedbroadbandsubscriptionswerecombinedwith
crowd-sourcedstatisticsondownloadspeedspublishedbyOokla[1]for115economies.
AftereliminatingpossiblenoisefromtheweeklyOoklaspeedtestdataseriesduetotheshockonthenetworkscausedbythesudden
shifttoremoteworkingandeducationsettings,averageandmediandownloadspeedchangeratioswereestimatedbetween
country-specificinitialandendperiodsoffourweeks,correspondingtotheend-2019baselineandastabilizedmid-year2020
(June-July)situation.Thissmoothingmethodhelpedobtainacrudeproxyindicatorthatpotentiallyunderestimatesthefulleffectofthe
trafficincreaseduringthestrictestsocialdistancingmeasurestypicallyoccurringoverMarch-May2020inmanycountries,wherespeed
datashowedvolatility,drivenbyahostoffactorsrelatedtonetworkresilienceandfast-changingInternetusepractices.
Inordertoaddresstheseandfurtheruncertaintiesinthedefinitionofthestartandendperiodsaswellasintheindicatordefinition
(averageormediandownloadspeedchange),a‘benefitofthedoubt’approachwasusedthatselectedthemaximumofthesmoothed
growthratiosobtainedacrossalternativedefinitionsandextrapolatedforthefullyear.
Thethusobtainedglobalaverageinternationalbandwidthusageincreaseofabout38percentisabout14percentagepointshigherthan
thebaselinegrowthobtainedfromtime-seriesmodels,intheabsenceofCOVID-19effects.ItshouldbenotedthatOokladataisnot
availableforalleconomiesofinterest(inthesecases,thetimeseriesforecastprovidingthebestfitwasapplied),anditsreliabilityvaried
acrosscountries,mostnotablyforLDCs.Furthermore,duetospeeddataquality,theexplanatorypowerofthemodelisstrongerin
countrieswherefixedbroadbandInternetisdominant.
Finally,resultsarealsopotentiallysensitivetosignificantchangesinbroadbandsubscriptionsduringtheyear.
[1]URL:https://www.speedtest.net/insights/blog/tracking-covid-19-impact-global-Internet-performance/(Retrieved:September2020)
________________________________________
© 2020 ITU
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Original language of publicaon: English
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ISBN:
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Published in Switzerland
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ISBN: 978-92-61-32511-4
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