(MENAFN) More than 240 million people came online in 2025, bringing the total number of internet users worldwide to six billion, according to a report released Monday by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

While global connectivity is steadily increasing, the UN agency warned that persistent disparities in quality, affordability, and skills prevent billions from fully benefiting from digital technologies. The ITU estimated that 2.2 billion people remain offline, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, and stressed the need for better digital infrastructure, affordable services, and improved digital skills.

"In a world where digital technologies are essential to so much of daily life, everyone should have the opportunity to benefit from being online," ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said, noting that digital divides now involve speed, reliability, affordability, and skills, not just access.

The report highlighted widening quality gaps caused by uneven rollout of advanced mobile technologies. For the first time, ITU estimated there are around three billion 5G subscriptions, roughly one-third of all mobile broadband subscriptions. Although 5G networks are expected to reach 55% of the global population, coverage remains unequal: 84% in high-income countries versus just 4% in low-income countries.

Usage patterns show the same divide, with a typical user in a high-income country generating nearly eight times more mobile data than one in a low-income country. Affordability and digital skills also remain barriers. While data-only mobile broadband costs have decreased, access is still unaffordable in about 60% of low- and middle-income countries. Most users have only basic skills, with advanced capabilities developing more slowly.

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, emphasized that reliable data are essential for effective digital policies and universal connectivity, calling for sustained efforts in infrastructure, skills, and data systems.

The report showed digital development is closely tied to economic status, gender, and location. Internet use reached 94% in high-income countries but only 23% in low-income countries. Men remain more connected than women (77% vs. 71%), urban residents more than rural (85% vs. 58%), and younger people more than older, with 82% of those aged 15–24 online compared to 72% of the rest of the population.

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