Report: Only 37.9 Percent of World Population Online

A recent article published by Facebook suggests that less than 40 percent of the world's population has an Internet connection. While that figure continues to increase each year, the rate of growth has now slowed for four consecutive years.

The figure combines data from multiple sources around the world, plus Facebook's own activity logs. The data suggest that as of December 2014, approximately 37.9 percent of people in the world use the Internet, even if that involves going online as little as once a year.

In 2010, the number of people using the Internet grew by 14.7 percent year on year. That growth rate has slowed consistently, and the 2014 figure was only 6.6 percent higher than for 2013. It should be noted that the percentage increase is in the raw number of users, rather than an increase in percentage points.

Developing Nations Lag Far Behind in Internet Usage

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's a massive difference in Internet usage between rich and third world nations. In developed countries, approximately 76.2 percent of people go online, compared to 29.8 percent for the latter. The biggest disparity is between North America where 84.4 percent of people are online, compared with just 13.7 percent in South Asia. (Source: fb.com)

What may come as a shock to many, however, is that 91.7 percent of people in the world live within range of a mobile network capable of carrying Internet data, albeit over the slower 2G system. The 3G system needed for services such as online video is available to 48.7 percent of people. (Source: techspot.com)

Cost And Language The Main Barriers

Facebook believes two main factors are limiting Internet adoption across the world. The first is affordability; of the entire world population, Facebook estimates only 50 percent of people can afford an Internet plan offering a minimum of 250MB of data a month. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the average person could only afford to use 20MB a month, which Facebook says is equivalent to a couple of hours of ordinary web browsing.

The second issue is relevance. According to Facebook, many people who don't use the Internet are either simply unaware of its existence, or face a language barrier. It's calculated that to make the Internet accessible to even 80 percent of the global population, a worthwhile number of sites would need to be available in 92 different languages, most likely using a on-the-fly translation service.

What's Your Opinion?

Is it a problem that most people in the world aren't using the Internet? What more can be done to expand global uptake? Is it an issue for governments, or will businesses seeking to boost profits be the best way to get more online users?