ICT

The world in 2015

Facts &
Figures

“This year governments are making their final assessment of the UN Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), which global leaders agreed upon in the year 2000. Over the past 15 years
the ICT revolution has driven global development in an unprecedented way. Technological
progress, infrastructure deployment, and falling prices have brought unexpected growth in ICT
access and connectivity to billions of people around the world. In 2015 there are more than 7
billion mobile cellular subscriptions worldwide, up from less than 1 billion in 2000. Globally 3.2
billion people are using the Internet of which 2 billion are from developing countries. ICTs will
play an even more significant role in the post 2015 development agenda and in achieving future
sustainable development goals as the world moves faster and faster towards a digital society.
Our mission is to connect everyone and to create a truly inclusive information society, for which
we need comparable and high-quality data and statistics to measure progress.”

Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau

MDGs 2000-2015: ICT revolution and remaining gaps

2000 2015*

400 MILLION INTERNET USERS 3.2 BILLION INTERNET USERS

Developed countries Developed countries

Developing countries LDCs Developing countries LDCs

100 million people Online Offline Source: ITU.

Note: * Estimates.
(rounded values)

• Globally 3.2 billion
people are using the
Internet by end 2015, of
which 2 billion are from
developing countries
• For every Internet
user in the developed
world there are 2 in the
developing world
• However, 4 billion
people from developing
countries remain offline,
representing 2/3 of the
population residing in
developing countries
• Of the 940 million
people living in the least
developed countries
(LDCs), only 89 million
use the Internet,
corresponding to a 9.5%
penetration rate
15 years of ICT growth: what has been achieved?

100
96.8
90 95.3

30
Per 100 inhabitants/households

70

60

50 47.2
46.4
40 43.4

30

20
10.8
10
Source: ITU.
Note: * Estimates.
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015*

Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions Individuals using the Internet Population covered by 2G mobile-cellular network
Mobile broadband subscriptions Fixed-broadband subscriptions Households with Internet

• By end 2015, there are more • Mobile broadband is the • Fixed-broadband uptake is
than 7 billion mobile cellular most dynamic market growing at a slower pace,
subscriptions, corresponding segment; globally, mobile- with a 7% annual increase
to a penetration rate of 97%, broadband penetration over the past three years and
up from 738 million in 2000 reaches 47% in 2015, a value reaching 11% penetration by
that increased 12 times end 2015
• Between 2000-2015, global since 2007
Internet penetration grew 7 • The proportion of the
fold from 6.5% to 43% • The proportion of households population covered by a 2G
with Internet access at home mobile-cellular network grew
increased from 18% in 2005 from 58% in 2001 to 95%
to 46% in 2015 in 2015

3G mobile-broadband coverage is extending rapidly and into the rural areas

2011 2015* 2015*

3G rural
population
coverage,
3G 3G 29%
population population
coverage, coverage,
45% 69% World rural population 3.4 billion

3G urban
population
World population 7 billion World population 7.4 billion coverage,
89%

No 3G population coverage
Source: ITU. 3G population coverage World urban population 4 billion
Note: * Estimates.
The digital divide in 2015*

Percentage of households with Internet access

• By end 2015, 34% of

households in developing
countries have Internet
access, compared
%
with more than 80% in
82.1 81.3 developed countries
60.0 60.1
40.3 39.0 46.4
34.1 • In least developed
10.7 6.7 countries (LDCs), only
7% of households
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have Internet access,

LD
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†

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average of 46%

Percentage of individuals using the Internet

• Internet penetration in
developing countries
stands at 35%; LDCs lag
behind with only 10%
%
77.6 82.2 • In Africa, one in 5 people
66.0 59.9
43.4 use the Internet today,
37.0 36.9 35.3
20.7 compared to almost 2 in
9.5
5 people in Asia & Pacific,
and 3 in 5 people in
pe

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†

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Mobile broadband subscriptions

• Mobile-broadband
penetration levels are
highest in Europe and
Per 100 inhabitants

the Americas, at around

78 active subscriptions
86.7
78.2 77.6 per 100 inhabitants
49.7 46.1
40.6 42.3 39.1
• Africa is the only region
17.4 12.1
where mobile broadband
penetration remains
pe

as

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ld

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in
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or
ic

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below 20%
ro

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†

Af

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Fixed-broadband subscriptions

• Fixed-broadband
penetration remains at
less than 1% in LDCs
Per 100 inhabitants

• Africa and the Arab

States stand out as
the regions with the
29.6 29.0
18.0 13.6
fewest fixed-broadband
3.7 8.9 0.5 10.8 7.1 0.5
subscriptions per 100
inhabitants, at less
pe

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ld

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Source: ITU.
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LD
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†

than 1 and less than

Af

Note: * Estimates.
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er

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† CIS Commonwealth
&

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4, respectively
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of Independent States.
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A
 Broadband now affordable in 111 countries
with mobile-broadband less expensive than fixed-broadband plans

Broadband Commission target (5% of GNI p.c.)

World
30.1
Postpaid Developed
computer-based Developing
mobile broadband 16.3
(1GB)
Number of countries

43
35.3

1
52.3
Postpaid
fixed-broadband 22.5
35 32 (1GB)
12 10 11 11 74.5
5
0-2 2-5 5-8 8-10 10-20 20-30 >30 0 20 40 60 80
2014 broadband prices as a % of GNI p.c.† 2014 broadband prices in PPP$*

• In 2014, in 111 countries • The global average • In developing countries, Source: ITU.
the price of a basic (fixed price of a basic fixed- average monthly fixed- Note: † Either fixed broadband
or mobile) broadband plan broadband plan (52 broadband prices (in or mobile broadband. *Based
on simple averages including
corresponds to less than PPP$) is 1.7 times higher PPP$) are 3 times data for 160 economies.
5% of average GNI per than the average price higher than in developed
capita, thus meeting of a comparable countries; mobile-
the Broadband mobile-broadband broadband prices are
Commission target plan (30 PPP$) twice as expensive as in
developed countries

Fixed broadband subscriptions:

developing countries lag behind as prices stagnate
Subscriptions Prices
35 450
2014 fixed-broadband prices in PPP$ †

400
30 29.0
350
25
Per 100 inhabitants

300

20 250

200
15
150
10.8 129.5
10
7.1 100
5 63.6
50 52.3
0.5 26.8
0 0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
00
01
02
03
04

05
06
07
08
09
10

11
12
13

20 4
*
1
15
20
20

20
20
20
20

20
20
20

20

20
20
20
20

20

Developed World Developing LDCs

• Fixed-broadband • While the prices of fixed- Source: ITU.

Note: * Estimates.
uptake remains slow in broadband plans dropped †
Simple averages.
developing countries sharply between 2008
and particularly in LDCs, and 2011, especially in
where penetration rates developing countries, they
are now at 7% and less have been stagnating
than 1%, respectively. since then and even
increased slightly
in LDCs
Differences in broadband speed persist

Korea (Rep.)
France
Iceland
Denmark
Andorra
Switzerland
United Kingdom*
Belgium
Japan
Sweden
Spain
Finland†
Portugal
Norway*†
United States*†
Hungary
Germany
Canada*†
Bulgaria
Singapore
Greece
Australia*†
Romania
Ireland
Austria
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Russian Federation
Poland**
Kazakhstan
Italy
Croatia
Chile
United Arab Emirates†
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Brazil
Bahrain
Belarus
Azerbaijan
Armenia
Colombia
Malaysia
Morocco
>10 Mbit/s
Qatar
>2 to <10 Mbit/s
Kyrgyzstan >256 kbit/s to <2Mbit/s
Venezuela
Ecuador
Tunisia Source: ITU.
Costa Rica Note: Refers to advertised
speeds. * Data correspond
Oman to speed intervals slightly
Egypt different from the ones
defined by ITU.** Breakdown
Guyana by speed available only for
Namibia a part of the total fixed-
broadband subscriptions.
Bolivia † Data include terrestrial
Honduras fixed wireless broadband
and/or satellite-broadband
Zimbabwe
subscriptions.
Senegal
Pakistan
Zambia 0.09
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed, early 2014 (selected countries)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

13th World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS), Hiroshima, Japan, 30 November to 2 December 2015,
http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/events/wtis2015/registration.aspx

Measuring the Information Society Report 2014,

http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/mis2014.aspx

Manual for Measuring ICT Access and Use by Households and Individuals 2014,
http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/manual2014.aspx

Final WSIS Targets Review: Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward,
http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/wsistargets2014.aspx

Yearbook of Statistics 2014, http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/yb2014.aspx

Handbook for the Collection of Administrative Data on Telecommunications/ICT 2011,

http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/handbook.aspx

ICT Data and Statistics Division

Telecommunication Development Bureau
International Telecommunication Union
Place des Nations
1211 Geneva 20 - Switzerland
indicators@itu.int
www.itu.int/ict

Printed in Switzerland

Geneva, May 2015

© International Telecommunication Union