Internet penetration up sevenfold since 2000, says ITU

Internet penetration has increased almost seven-fold from 6.5 to 43 per cent of the global population between 2000 and 2015, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). 

The ITU’s latest global research claims that by the end of 2015 there will be 3.2 billion people using the internet, 2 billion of whom will be from developing countries.

However, four billion people in the developing world will remain offline, with 851 million of the almost one billion people living in the least developing countries not using the internet.

The report claims that by the end of the year there are more than 7 billion mobile cellular subscriptions globally, corresponding to a penetration rate of 97%, up from 738 million in 2000.

“Mobile broadband is the most dynamic market segment; globally, mobile broadband penetration reaches 47% in 2015, a value that increased 12 times since 2007,” said the ITU.

The ITU is an agency for information and communication technology issues, and claims to be the “focal point” for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services.