Broadband Internet is failing to reach billions of people living in the developing world, including 90 per cent of those living in the poorest nations, according to a new United Nations report that offers country-by-country data on the state of access around the globe.

The State of Broadband, produced by the UN Broadband Commission and released today, reveals that 57 per cent of the world’s people remain offline and unable to take advantage of the enormous economic and social benefits the Internet can offer.

The International Telecommunication Union report, which comes ahead of this week’s summit in New York at which world leaders will adopt the 2030 Agenda which contains the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stresses that access to information and communication technology (ICT), particularly broadband Internet, has the potential to serve as a major accelerator of development. The importance of ICT connectivity is specifically recognised in the SDGs.