Digital technologies are revolutionizing the global economy and we are living in an increasingly digital age. With just over five billion people uniquely subscribing to mobile services, that's two-thirds of the world's population, a forecast predicting further growth with some estimates even higher, we are more connected than ever. In 2018, the mobile industry contributed 4.6 percent to GDP, amounting to $3.9 trillion. This figure is expected to continue to rise to 4.8 percent, that's $4.8 trillion by 2023. With the advent of 5G, 4G connections currently take the lead. Smartphones are attributed to much of the growth in mobile phone usage, with over 50 percent of all mobile users being smartphone users. By 2020, it is expected that almost 75 percent of the world's population will be connected by mobile. A key factor that is behind this growth is the billions of dollars that mobile operators have invested in networks, services, and spectrum over many years, according to Mats Granryd, the Director General of GSMA. Future projections indicate that in the next seven years, just over 700 million people will subscribe to mobile services, with half of these expected to come from the Asia's Pacific region and approximately a quarter from Sub-Saharan Africa. The growth in mobile connectivity is identified to be helping the mobile industry contribute to increasing its impact across all of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. But are we leaving no one behind despite the SDGs, when it comes to access to and usage of mobile technologies and the Internet? So let's look at the figures in a bit more depth. In 2003, there were estimated to be one billion unique mobile subscribers. By 2007, this figure had doubled to two billion, and by 2010, it had grown to three billion, and then four billion by 2013. The current estimates of over five billion, demonstrate that over one billion have been added in over four years. While the overall total unique mobile subscribers remains high, there are clear inequalities in access to mobile subscribership globally. Figures from GSMA demonstrate these inequalities. For example; while approximately two-thirds of the world's population subscribe to mobile services and this is expected to rise to 71 percent by 2025, the same cannot be said for all regions of the world, and the figures vary markedly. In Europe, North America, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, mobile subscriber rates are approximately 80 percent or higher based on figures released in 2019. In Asia's Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa regions, these rates are over 60 percent. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest rates at only 45 percent of subscriber penetration and this is expected to reach just over 50 percent by 2025. Smartphone adoption is also lowest in this region, with only 36 percent of the population using a smartphone. This figure is expected to rise to 66 percent by 2025. This vary significantly compared to the global rate of 60 percent and figures as high as 80 percent in North America. As well as geographical inequalities, there are other inequalities such as gender inequalities in mobile phone usage. Women in low and middle-income countries, on average are 10 percent less likely to own a mobile phone, this equates to approximately 184 million fewer women owning a mobile phone. Global Internet usage is also high, and it's particularly surged in recent years. The total number of mobile Internet subscribers in 2019 is now more than 3.5 billion. 2018, marked the first time ever that there were more mobile Internet users than non-users. By 2025, this figure is expected to rise to five billion people across the globe, more than 60 percent of the population. These figures have grown over time. In 2014, there were 2.3 billion users, accounting for 33 percent of the world's population connected to the mobile Internet. This steadily increased to just under three billion in 2016, 40 percent of the world's population, to its present-day estimates of 3.5 billion, that accounts 47 percent of the world's population being connected to mobile Internet. Similarly, adoption of mobile Internet is not equitable. Low middle-income countries account for 97 percent of those globally who live without mobile broadband coverage, and 90 percent of those that do have coverage but do not yet use mobile Internet. Clear agenda and urban world disparities also exist particularly in low and middle-income countries. It is estimated that women are approximately 20 percent less likely than men to use mobile Internet, and rural populations are 40 percent less likely to use mobile Internet compared to urban populations. While mobile data has continued to become more affordable across all regions, the cost of Internet enabled devices has not fallen as significantly and cost is reported as the greatest barrier to both mobile ownership and mobile Internet use. Social media usage is also on the up globally with approximately 3.4 billion social media users this year, and 3.2 million people use social media on their mobile device. You've been introduced to the distribution of these technologies globally and inequalities that exist in accessing usage. There's still an urgent and important need to reach underserved communities including women, those in rural areas, those on low incomes, and vulnerable communities including those who are ill and people with disabilities.
