More than 40% of the world's population is offline (even though only 17% remains in an area without mobile data coverage). Two-thirds of school-age children worldwide lack Internet access. And the divide reflects and widens socioeconomic gaps. People from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and minority groups are usually less likely to have Internet access or be able to use the web efficiently. Men remain 21% more likely to be online than women, rising to 52% in the world’s least developed countries. 

But the consequences of this divide are significant. When we fail to connect these populations, we widen the existing inequalities and fail to benefit from their collective knowledge, talent and contributions to economic prosperity.

Access to the Internet provides benefits and opportunities to both individuals (academic outcomes, including outcomes at standardized test scores, cognitive skills, productivity, income, even health outcomes and mortality, etc.) and entire countries ( productivity, unemployment, economic growth, cultural integration, etc.).