A vast majority of the world’s population – 4.4 billion, to be precise – have been reported to have absolutely no access to internet connectivity, according to a study by McKinsey & Company.
The report claims that close to a quarter of people without internet connection live in India (85 percent have no access), but there are regions that fare even worse like the figure is 90 percent in Bangladesh. Other countries with similar dismal figures include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Myanmar.
Interestingly, the report also notes that there is a vast population that does not care to go online such as the areas – Russia, the US and Korea fall in this category. The reason has been attributed to age, however, affordability and infrastructure too has a role to play, adds the study.
In the US, 80 percent of the offline population fall below the poverty line. However, in a separate article, it has been revealed that quite a good proportion of those who don’t go online, do so by choice.
The total offline population in China, Indonesia and Bangladesh are 736 million, 210 million, and 146 million respectively. In absolutely terms those without connectivity has been placed at 50 million which is roughly about 16 percent of the total population.
