The ITU ICT SDG indicators

In about half of the 88 countries for which data are available, less than half the population possesses basic computer skills such as copying a file or sending an e-mail with an attachment. For more complex activities, such as using basic arithmetic formulae in a spreadsheet or downloading and installing new software, the proportions are even lower. In three-quarters of the countries for which data are available, these proportions are below 50 per cent. With respect to advanced computer skills, in only 11 countries do more than 10 per cent of people report having written a computer program using a specialized programming language in the last three months. 

Data suggest that developing countries are particularly disadvantaged when it comes to digital skills. There is a lack of data collected on skills in developing regions, but the available data suggest that inequalities reflect other inequalities between the different regions of the world, particularly in relation to basic skills.

More information, including maps can be found here.

​​Indicator 4.4.1 is the global indicator for SDG Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship. 

The data can be found in the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicat​ors Database  and in the UN SDG Indicators Database. The meta​data​ are also available on the UN website.

Ownership of mobile phones is an important tool to reduce gender inequality. Empowering more women with mobile phones has been shown to accelerate social and economic development. However, globally a gender gap can be observed for this indicator. In the 66 countries for which data are available for the year 2016, 2017 or 2018, mobile phone ownership among men was on average 6.8 percentage point higher than for women. In 23 of these countries, more women than men owned a mobile phone, but usually the gap was very small. Only in Chile, female ownership was substantially higher than male ownership. On the other end of the scale, in 10 countries, male ownership was more than 10 percentage points higher than female ownership, up to 30.6% in Niger and 37.3% in Côte d'Ivoire. In most of the countries that had a large gender gap in mobile phone ownership, a large gender gap in Internet usage was registered as well (indicator 17.8.1).

More information, including maps can be found here.

​Indicator 5.b.1 is the global indicator for SDG Target 5.b: Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.

The data can be found in the World Telecommunication​/ICT Indicat​ors Database​ and in the UN SDG Indicators Database. The meta​data are also available on the UN website.

Almost the whole world population now lives within range of mobile-cellular network signal.

To access the Internet, mobile access provides flexibility that cannot be provided by fixed-broadband, so many people are opting to have mobile access in addition to fixed. In places where fixed-broadband is not available or is unaffordable, mobile-broadband may be the only feasible pathway to Internet access. But this is only possible if the area where someone tries to make a mobile phone call or access the Internet on a mobile device is covered by a network. 

Almost the entire world population (97%) lives within reach of a mobile cellular signal. 82% of the world’s population lives within reach of an LTE or higher mobile-broadband signal, and another 11% have access to a 3G network. While 93 per cent of the world’s population lives within reach of a mobile broadband (or Internet) service, only just over 53 per cent actually uses the Internet.​
 

Fixed-broadband has a significant impact on the world economy. An increase of 1 per cent in fixed-broadband penetration has been found to be associated with an increase in 0.08 per cent in gross domestic product (GDP), on average. This impact is guided by a return to scale effect, according to which the economic impact of fixed-broadband is higher in more developed countries than in less developed countries. 

In 2019, there were more fixed-broadband connections (1.1 billion) than fixed-telephone connections (931 million). Growth in fixed-broadband subscriptions has been sustained, with the penetration rate going up from 3.4 per 100 inhabitants in 2005 to 14.9 in 2019. In developed countries this number stood at 33.6 in 2019, while in developing countries it was only 11.2. In the least-developed countries, due to the high cost and lacking infrastructure, there are almost no fixed-broadband connections.