by Lisa Schlein / Voice of America

The International Telecommunication Union says Africa is the region with the strongest growth, where the percentage of people using the internet has increased from just over two percent in 2005 to nearly 25 percent in 2018.
The lowest growth rates, it says, are in Europe and the Americas, with the lowest usage found in the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition to data on internet usage, newly released statistics show mobile access to basic telecommunication services is becoming more predominant. ITU Senior Statistician, Esperanza Magpantay says access to higher speed mobile and fixed broadband also is growing.
“So, there is almost 96 percent of the population who are now covered by mobile population signal of which 90 percent are covered by 3G access. So, this is a high figure, and this helps explain why we have this 51 percent of the population now using the internet,” she said.
With the growth in mobile broadband, Magpantay says there has been an upsurge in the number of people using the internet through their mobile devices.
The ITU says countries that are hooked into the digital economy do better in their overall economic well-being and competitiveness. Unfortunately, it says the cost of accessing telecommunication networks remains too high and unaffordable for many.
It says prices must be brought down to make the digital economy a reality for the half the world’s people who do not, as yet, use the internet.