The pandemic has made the Internet even more central in our lives : between smartworking and distance learning, being connected to the network has become almost fundamental and, in 2021, over 4.9 billion of people used the Internet (almost 800 million users more than 4.1 billion in 2019).
To say it is Facts and Figures 2021 , the annual report of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) : the increase of about 17% compared to 2019 it is almost entirely attributable to the pandemic. More specifically, usage peaks can be seen in developing countries, where Internet usage has increased by more than 13%.
However, 2.9 billion “digital excluded” are , people who do not have access to the network and who also face challenges such as poverty, illiteracy and limited access to electricity. The report then highlights a gap between the use of the Internet by men and women: 62% of men use the Internet on average against 57% of women (in Africa, the gap increases with 35% of connected men versus 24% of women).
