About three-quarters of the world’s people now use the internet. That is a large change in a short time, and it leaves a large group out. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency for information and communication technologies, publishes the most widely used estimates in its Facts and Figures report. The 2025 edition appeared in November 2025.
How many people are online?
Almost three-quarters of the world’s population is now online, according to the ITU. The UN’s SDG Report 2026 key messages put internet use at 74 percent, up from 40 percent over the period tracked by the goals. That puts the number offline at 2.2 billion people, most of them in low- and middle-income countries. By our own arithmetic, a population where 74 percent is online has 26 percent offline, which agrees with the ITU’s description.
Is the network available even where people are offline?
Yes. The ITU says mobile broadband coverage is nearly universal. The gap is therefore not mainly about signal. The page describes continuing gaps in quality and affordability, and says divides between groups, including by gender, continue to narrow but endure. The page does not provide numbers for those gaps, so we do not quote any. Coverage describes whether a signal reaches a place, while use depends on price, devices, skills and relevant content. That distinction is a general one and not stated by the ITU page.
How far has 5G spread?
The ITU reports that 5G coverage reaches more than half of the global population, and that 5G accounts for more than one-third of mobile broadband subscriptions. Our explainer on 5G describes how it differs from 4G. Having coverage and subscribing are separate steps, which is why the second figure is lower than the first in the ITU’s description.
What does “online” mean?
The ITU’s standard measure counts a person as an internet user if they have used the internet in the last three months. That is a general description of the standard indicator and is not on the page we read. It means a person who connects occasionally counts as online, and that the measure does not capture how good the connection is. Behind every connected device is a set of technical standards, such as the Internet Protocol, that lets networks exchange data.
Why does the divide matter?
Services such as education, banking, health information and government forms increasingly assume an internet connection. People without access can be left out of them. The ITU framing is that steady progress has not removed the gaps in quality and affordability. Our own reading is that the next phase of the divide is less about whether a person is connected at all and more about the quality of that connection.
What does this have to do with data centers and cloud services?
Growth in online use increases demand for network and computing capacity, a topic covered in our report on data centers and electricity demand. The connection is a general one, and the ITU page we used does not discuss data traffic. Services are delivered from cloud computing infrastructure that depends on both connectivity and electricity.
How should readers use these numbers?
The ITU page gives headline figures only, and the full report would be needed for regional and demographic detail. We have not estimated numbers that the page does not state. Three practical cautions apply. The figures are estimates built from national surveys and operator data. They change each year as the data are revised. And they describe the world as a whole, so individual countries can look very different.
Key figures at a glance
- Share of the world online: almost three-quarters (74 percent in the UN SDG Report 2026)
- People offline: 2.2 billion, mostly in low- and middle-income countries
- 5G coverage: more than half of the global population
- 5G share of mobile broadband subscriptions: more than one-third
- Mobile broadband coverage: nearly universal
Glossary: terms used here
- Digital divide: the gap between people who have meaningful access to digital technology and those who do not
- Mobile broadband: internet access delivered over mobile networks at higher speeds than basic mobile data
- Coverage: the share of people who live where a signal is available
- Usage: the share of people who actually use the service
- Affordability: whether the cost of devices and data is reasonable relative to income
- 5G: the fifth generation of mobile network technology
These definitions are general ones and are not quoted from the ITU page.
What can narrow the gap?
Development agencies commonly discuss lower device and data prices, public access points, digital skills training and local-language content. These are general examples and not findings of the ITU page. The ITU’s own emphasis in the page we read is on quality and affordability, which fits the first of those levers.
What is the link to the Sustainable Development Goals?
The internet figure of 74 percent appears in the UN’s 2026 SDG report key messages. The goals include a target on access to information and communications technology, so the ITU’s annual figures feed directly into that scorecard. Our article on the UN’s goals, together with this one, gives two views of the same subject: the ITU’s detailed connectivity measures and the UN’s wider scorecard.
Frequently asked questions
How many people are offline?
2.2 billion, most of them in low- and middle-income countries, according to the ITU.
Why are people offline if coverage is nearly universal?
The ITU points to gaps in quality and affordability, and divides that persist between groups.
What counts as being online?
The standard measure counts anyone who has used the internet in the last three months, a general description of the indicator.
What share of subscriptions are 5G?
More than one-third of mobile broadband subscriptions.