What is the digital divide?
This content was published on November 26, 2003
minutes
Currently, the technology to access information is distributed very unevenly – not just between rich and poor countries, but even within the most developed countries.
Less than 20 per cent of people worldwide have their own telephone line, while 60 per cent of all internet connections are used by just ten per cent of the world’s population. Even in Western Europe, the majority of the population still doesn’t own a computer or knows how to use one.
Moreover, 80 per cent of all web pages are in English and therefore inaccessible to all those who cannot read the language of Shakespeare…or Bill Gates.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
Contributions under this article have been turned off. You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.