3.9 B people using internet worldwide

More than half of the world’s population of nearly eight billion will be using the internet by the end of 2018, reaching a milestone in the digital revolution, according to the United Nations telecommunications agency.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said an estimated 3.9 billion people or 51.2 percent would be using social media by the end of this month.

The increased connectivity would help promote sustainable development everywhere, ITU secretary general Houlin Zhao said.

ITU global and regional estimates for 2018 are “a pointer to the great strides the world is making toward building a more inclusive global information society,” Zhao said.

The latest figures also spotlight Africa, showing the strongest rate of growth in internet access from two percent in 2005 to more than 24 percent of the African population this year.

Europe and the Americas are the regions with the slowest growth rates, though the current figures show that 79.6 percent and 69.6 percent are online, respectively.

“In developed countries, slow and steady growth increased the percentage of population using the internet, from 51.3 percent in 2005 to 80.9 percent in 2018,” the ITU said.

Despite this progress, the ITU said a lot of communities worldwide still do not use internet, particularly women and girls. Statistics show that older people disproportionately remain offline, as do those with disabilities, indigenous populations and those living in the world’s poorest places.

In a bid to reduce inequalities, the agency sought infrastructure investments from the public and private sectors and to focus on ensuring that access remains affordable for all.