According to the World Economic Forum, the United States placed ninth worldwide in a study that measured each country’s ability to make use of information technology. The U.S. lost out to Finland which placed first due to the regulatory environment which exists in the United States. Even in the top 10 countries, the gap of access to information is wide between the classes, and this gap is heightened in the developing world.

Many countries in Africa and Latin America hold low levels of connectivity to the internet and thus the rest of the globe is reflected in these statistics. By lacking this type of connectivity, the communities in this country miss out on the huge social and economic rewards which coincide with open internet access.

Notably, countries with lacking connectivity are often countries with the poorest communities: China’s ranked 58, Brazil rose to rank 65, India rose to rank 68, and South Africa ranked 70.

In many of the poorest countries, stable access to the internet is secondary to stable access to food, potable water and shelter; however, accessing the internet is a huge benefit in country’s which have met the most basic needs of communities and require further education or economic opportunities to advance their communities and maintain stable income and access to food. While internet access will not fill a stomach, it can provide economic opportunities to keep that stomach full.

– Pete Grapentien

Source: Business Recorder
Photo: Media Global News