3.2 Billion People Online in 2015 - Up from 3B in 2014, Facebook Reports

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3.2 Billion People Online in 2015 - Up from 3B in 2014, Facebook Reports

By CircleID Reporter
February 23, 2016, 11:40 pm PST Views: 4,736 Add Comment

At the end of 2015, 3.2 billion people were estimated to be online—up from 3 billion in 2014, according to the study conducted by Connectivity Lab at Facebook. The increase is “partly attributed to more affordable data and rising global incomes in 2014.” Additionally most people are connecting to the internet using mobile devices, the only way to get online in many parts of the world, notes the report.

Additional highlights from the report include:

• Over 3 billion people are connected to the internet and nearly all newly connected people use mobile devices

• On current trends, international targets for connectivity will not be achieved, with a projected shortfall of 500 million people globally

• At least 1.6 billion people live outside mobile broadband coverage, which is constrained by economic, operational and policy factors

• Relevant content can help increase connectivity, but more can be done to understand and improve relevance for the unconnected

• Over two thirds of the unconnected do not understand what the internet is, and many lack the digital skills required to use it

By CircleID Reporter

CircleID’s internal staff reporting on news tips and developing stories. Do you have information the professional Internet community should be aware of? Contact us.

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