Global internet inclusion could lift 500m out of poverty, and add over $6trn to global GDP

Internet growth has slowed because of barriers to online access and usage in the telecom, content and retail markets

LONDON, May 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global inclusion in the Internet could bring seven percent of the world's population - 500 million people - above absolute poverty levels, and add US$6.7 trillion to global economic output, according to a new study by Strategy&, PwC's strategy consulting business.

The study, for Facebook, encompassed 120 countries over a 10-year period and describes how the Internet could change as more people from developing markets get online. It examines how barriers to accessing the internet could be removed, and how the internet could change as more people from developing markets get online.

Despite the ongoing digital revolution, the number of new Internet subscribers, most of whom are in developing nations, has slowed in recent years, only growing in single digits since 2013. This leaves 4.1 billion people disconnected from a modern economy that would benefit by over US$6 trillion with their participation. 

According to the report "Connecting the World", global Internet inclusion would mean that there could be five Internet users in developing markets for every one user in developed markets, compared to the current ratio of two to one.

Bringing the whole world online would create huge benefits for developing countries and for businesses over the coming five years, including:

• Social and economic improvement for over 4 billion people
• An additional global economic output of US$6.7 trillion
• A $400 billion growth opportunity for telecom operators
• A $200 billion opportunity for content providers

"Enabling universal access to the Internet is one of the fundamental development challenges of our era," says Bahjat El-Darwiche, co-author of the Strategy& study and a partner with PwC Middle East. "To allow people in the developing world to participate fully in the modern economy and benefit from the Internet's transformative impact, we need to make Internet access easier and cheaper, provide people with compelling reasons to go online, and support people as they discover the Internet and use it for the first time."