Globally, 86 per cent of people aged 15 to 24 use the Internet, 12 percentage points more than among the rest of the population (74 per cent). This generational gap, observed in every region, has been shrinking over the last four years, slowly in upper-middle- and high-income economies, but much faster in low- and lower-middle-income economies.
In 2026, 15 to 24 year olds in low-income countries were 1.8 times as likely to use the Internet as the rest of the population. Although this is the largest generational gap of any income group, it has narrowed since 2023 when the ratio stood at 2.1. In lower-middle economies, the ratio has decreased from 1.5 to 1.3 over the same period.
Universal Internet use, defined as a usage rate of at least 95 per cent, has already been achieved among young people in Europe, the CIS and the Americas, with the Asia-Pacific region close behind.