COMMENTARY OP+ED

Fixing the global digital

divide and digital access
gap

Landry Signé
July 5, 2023

11 min read

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The digital divide was further thrown into the

spotlight after the pandemic shifted all aspects
of life—from work to education to socializing—
online at an unprecedented pace. During this
time, the world experienced an internet spike,
with 466 million people using the internet for the
very first time in 2020. The number of global
internet users and the percentage of internet
penetration continued to grow from 2021 to 2022
at 7% and 6% respectively. While this growth
indicates that progress has been made in digital
access, the fact remains that as of 2022, 2.7
billion people, representing a third of the world,
do not have access to the internet and 53% of
the world does not have access to high-speed
broadband, leading to the risk of compounding
negative effects in terms of economic, political,
and social inclusion and equality. These trends
make it plain that policymakers should care
about addressing the global digital divide, and
pay attention to the continental differences that
exist around technology access and use.

The data

The area of digital access and divides is a

complex and multifaceted issue. Like many
current complex issues, digital divides do not
have a single cause or linear effect, and they
involve multiple dynamic variables. Furthermore,
the challenges digital divides present are
constantly changing as the social and economic
use of technology continues to evolve.

Looking at access to internet and mobile devices

alone, there are several layers of division. The
geographic location of the 2.7 billion
unconnected varies greatly by region: Internet
penetration is 89% in Europe, over 80% in the
Americas, and 70% in the Arab States, compared
to 61% in Asia and 40% in Africa. Disparities in
internet connectivity and use are not limited to
geographic divides, but also include gaps based
on gender, age, and, rural vs. urban populations.
As of 2022, there are 264 million fewer women
accessing the internet than men, with women 7%
less likely to own a mobile phone and 16% less
likely to use mobile internet than men. Younger
populations are more likely to be online as well,
with 75% of global youth (aged 15V24W connected
to the internet, compared to 65% of the rest of
the population. In 2021, the number of internet
users in urban areas was double the number in
rural areas. These disparities in access to
internet and mobile devices are the tip of the
iceberg when it comes to the complexities and
inequalities that exist within other areas of the
digital divide.

To navigate this complexity, it is critical to

understand that the “digital divide” does not just
include the divide between those with access to
the internet or mobile devices and those without,
but is made up of additional overlapping divides
in digital skills, digital use, quality of
infrastructure, access to content, etc. The United
Nations International Telecommunication Union
]ITUW organizes its goals for bridging the digital
divide into two buckets: universal connectivity
and meaningful connectivity. The layers within
these two goals can be further broken down into
multiple types of access as presented in Table 1^
physical, financial, socio-demographic, cognitive,
institutional, political, and cultural.

Table 1. Types of digital access

Physical access Physical access to devices and networks

Financial access Financial access to sustain the device, infrastr

maintenance, training, etc. needed to be online

Socio-demographic access Socio-demographic access such as education

Cognitive access Cognitive access to the level of information an

literacy needed to use digital technologies effe

Institutional access Institutional access to the internet or devices t

community centers, religious institutions, cybe
at home

Political access Political access to information and content pro

by political regimes

Cultural access Cultural access to information and content rele

locations and contexts

Source: Table created by the author, using

the definitions provided by Natalia Williams,
2022.

The complexities of digital access must be

situated within the broader effects of the Fourth
Industrial Revolution, as I show in my book,
Africa’s Fourth Industrial Revolution, which
discusses 4IR drivers and barriers across African
countries. Here, I detail the risk of divides
between developing and advanced economies
across other factors such as gaps in research,
infrastructure, and education as well as their
cyclical effects: As advanced economies improve
conditions for the digital economy, more 4IR
investments are diverted solely to the developed
world, leading developing countries to fall even
further behind. This cycle is similar to the
dynamics at play in other societal inequalities, in
which economic incentive structures lead to
value being added only for those with access.
My work also shows that the digital divide is not
only interstate but also intrastate—even when
developing regions or countries acquire and
adopt 4IR technologies, they risk exacerbating
domestic inequalities due to the cost of
technology and the rural-urban infrastructure
divide. Reducing such intranational inequality is
critical for development, as more equal countries
tend to have greater political stability and
resilience and are less likely to be fragile or prone
to civil conflict.

A notable gap in the literature on digital divides is

the relative lack of research on the broader
effects of digital divides on structural
transformation in developing countries
specifically. Much of the research is focused on
these effects (such as labor market disruptions)
in developed countries, where digital
technologies have historically been more
concentrated. A report, “Digitalization and Digital
Skills Gaps in Africa: An Empirical Profile,”
addresses this lack of theoretical and empirical
research on developing countries by presenting a
Digitalization Index & Digital Skills Index that
takes into account key factors in the digital
economies of developing countries and evaluates
vulnerabilities within these factors on a country-
level basis. This kind of research meets a critical
need, given the unique economic and labor
market conditions of developing countries as well
as their specific development trajectories, which
do not necessarily match the experience of
developed countries. More research will be
needed on the digital transformation within
different political economies to bridge the gap
between policy and successful implementation.

Why is it so complex to fix the

global digital divide and digital
access gap?

Navigating the complexity of digital divides can

be extremely difficult, especially given the unique
circumstances and systems particular to each
country, which renders one-size-fits-all policy
prescriptions inadequate. However, the cross-
border nature of the issue makes it one whose
solutions require global consensus. As I discuss
in my book, Africa’s Fourth Industrial Revolution,
the 4IR is transforming all areas of economic,
political, social, and diplomatic life, requiring
coordinated action between governments,
academic institutions, the private sector, and
regional and intergovernmental bodies.

Global consensus will be critical, as the digital

future cannot and should not be decided by
governments or technology companies alone. As
the digital divide between developed and
developing countries increases and more
technology companies emerge in developed
countries, the power and leverage of developed
countries to decide on the digital future will
increase, leaving more and more of the
perspectives and concerns of developing
countries out of the conversation.

One prevailing challenge that may be ripe for

global consensus is the lack of alignment
between stakeholders such as governments,
technology companies, start-ups, nonprofits, etc.
on the root causes, definitions, issues, and
consequences of the digital divide and the
overall digital economy. Without standardization,
collaboration has been difficult, as each player
has a limited view of the problem.
Intergovernmental bodies can play a convening
role and can lead with a systems thinking
approach to offer a holistic view of the problem.

Geopolitical tensions pose another challenge and

potential risk, especially as technology becomes
a centerpiece of power struggles, as we have
seen in the rising tensions between the United
States and China. Strong and broad global
collaboration and consensus will be critical in
order to uphold a commitment to the public good
even amidst these types of tensions. Geopolitical
variables will likely take on increased importance,
especially as developing countries may be
vulnerable to giving up digital sovereignty when
it comes to infrastructure or ownership of data.

Fixing the global digital divide

and digital access gap:
Opportunities and existing
initiatives

There have been and continue to be a wide array

of approaches for mitigating and solving the
issue of digital divides. Digital divide policy was
previously dominated by a focus on increasing
access to infrastructure, but recently it has
expanded to include building digital skills, closing
usage gaps, and strengthening social awareness
of the internet.

Several initiatives and strategic plans from

intergovernmental bodies and private companies
are already in place to address these pressing
issues. Each stakeholder plays a different role
and brings different tools to the table. The World
Bank has extensive experience working directly
with countries and regions through multiple
programs that leverage capacity building,
technical assistance, and stakeholder
connections, including the Digital Development
Partnership, which offers advisory services,
knowledge products, and convening services
between governments, the private sector, and
other stakeholders; the Digital Development
Global Practice, which works directly with
governments of developing countries to build the
foundation for inclusive digital transformation;
and other region-specific initiatives such as the
Digital Economy for Africa ]DE4AW initiative and
the Africa Digital Moonshot Initiative, which aims
to “enable digital access” to everyone in Africa
by 2030.

The United Nations also has specific initiatives

related to expanding access and infrastructure,
such as its Broadband Commission, led by ITU
and UNESCO and committed to universal
connectivity; its Giga Initiative, which aims to
connect every school to the internet; and
UNHCR’s Innovation Service, which promotes
digital access for refugees, among many others.
The United Nations also plays a key role in
broadening the conversation to provide a holistic
picture of other factors and considerations in a
global forum. For example, the UN Commission
on the Status of Women is contributing to
embedding gender inclusivity into all aspects of
the digital economy, including by taking a deep
dive into access, use, design, and monitoring of
technology through the lens of gender. By
making this the theme of 2023, the Commission
is playing a key role in mainstreaming inclusivity
into the conversation.

Meanwhile, private actors are also working on

their own initiatives to solve various components
of the issue—from Space X’s Starlink, which is
expanding broadband to remote areas across the
globe, to Google’s Next Billion Users initiative,
which aims to create digital products and
experiences based on user research. Such
private initiatives are typically more targeted to
one or two aspects of the digital divide—for
example, as access to infrastructure or
developing digital skills—and can be a great
source of funding, particularly for resource-
constrained public sectors.

The road ahead to fixing the

digital divide and access gap:
strategies and ways forward

While an abundance of work is being done on the

topic, stronger global collaboration remains a key
goal to accelerate progress and ensure these
various efforts are complementing, rather than
undermining, one another.

The rise of country-level and regional strategic

plans is an indication of what seems to be
working: addressing the digital divide by
connecting it to other national challenges and
goals. For example, the African Union’s Digital
Transformation Strategy has been a driving force
for progress on the continent by focusing on
policy goals based around foundational pillars to
support the digital ecosystem as illustrated in
Figure 1.

Source: Figure designed by the author, summarizing the African

Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy

Another example is the Digital India Programme,

an ambitious national strategy aimed at
achieving similar goals of digital infrastructure,
digital empowerment, and on-demand digital
governance/services that align with other
economic and social goals across the country. So
far, this effort has been extremely successful in
connecting its citizens to services through robust
investment in infrastructure and broadband, with
great spillover effects, including reducing
poverty from 22% in 2012 to 16% in 2019.

These strategic plans also ultimately facilitate

implementation, as they are rooted in local
problems, strengths, and overall contexts.
Initiatives from the World Bank, UN, development
banks, companies, and other players can help
further accelerate progress and implementation
success by partnering directly with the
governments and leaders of countries and
regions based on these strategies, which
indicate their political willingness. These
strategies can also help direct investment to the
most needed areas depending on context—
something best understood by country
leadership itself.

Implementation and inclusivity will be key going

forward. As I point out in my book, the voices of
the global South, particularly youth, who will be
driving the digital transformation, have been
missing from these conversations. Their inclusion
will be essential to overcoming digital divides in a
sustainable, inclusive, and equitable way. This
signals the need for greater inclusion of the
voices of the global South in these discussions to
steer the conversation as well as the greater
inclusion of youth, who will be driving the digital
transformation.

Overall, the key will be figuring out how to best

embed inclusivity within every single step and
variable of the digital transformation and the
ever-evolving digital economy—from building
infrastructure to expanding digital finance
platforms to promoting entrepreneurship, and
everything in between.

This article builds on Professor Landry Signé’s

most recent book, Africa’s Fourth Industrial
Revolution ACambridge University Press, 2023G.
The article was prepared as part of New
America’s Digital Futures Task Force, for which
Professor Landry Signé is Working Group Lead
for Digital Access and Divides.

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AUTHORS

Landry Signé
Senior Fellow - Global Economy and
Development, Africa Growth Initiative
FLandrySigne

Acknowledgements and
disclosures

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