International Digital Divide

In the countries of Africa there are a growing number of people awaking to the advantages of technology. The African population has grown to over 922,011,000 in recent years. But with only 3% having main telephone lines it is likely that a very low percentage of people will have access to the Internet. This is true. It is shown by only 1.6% having access to the World Wide Web. But the percent of mobile phone subscribers is double the amount of main telephone lines at 6.1%. But how does this break down into a north, south divide? Is there a difference in where the higher percentage in internet access is?

Well, yes. In northern Africa there is an internet user percentage of 3.3%. But when compared to the southern, often considered the richer part of Africa, the percent is more than double at 7.1%.

This is a lot lower when compared with a more economically developed country (MEDC) such as UK. Where the internet access percent across the whole population is 57%. That is a 11% increase in 4 years. This could be down to the UK household capital per person is higher. This allows them to be able to afford the equipment required to access the internet.