Nigeria is the most populous country in africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. A holistic look at information poverty and the regions digital divide. How to fix the digital divide in africa, developing countries. Digital divide refers to the gap between people that have. Ghanas diminishing digital divide blog kpmg africa. This paper discusses the gap created by an international digital divide in africa. In this paper we take a look at the global digital divide concerning africa, we analyze the situation with the help of macrodata and by. Many proposals are currently being discussed within the government and the telecommunications industry itself for future development. Request pdf bridging the digital divide in nigeria. Digital inclusion and sustainable development in nigeria. The very problem of digital divide will be discussed later in the paper, but for now it should be underlined, that aside from defining strictly the term, it is relative.
Committee on technology in government, new york city council. Introduction equitable access to information is an essential principle in a global information economy. Bridging the digital divide and the impact on poverty in. Digital inclusion and the role of mobile in nigeria. Recent findings on mobile digital divide in nigeria are only. The global digital divide and the effects of technology use on educational outcomes robert w. If we take nigeria for example, a core reason for better development in the south is connectivity and access to digital technology and. Clearly, this gap is different in nature from the standard notion of digital divide that describes socioeconomic differences based on access to information technologies. The digital divide is a term used to describe the deficit between those who have access to technologies such as the internet, mobile phones and tablets and know how to use them, and those that dont. Bridging the digital divide in africa it news africa. The impact of digital divide on e learning in nigeria pdf. Broadband internet is highspeed internet access that is always on.
How can developing countries close the digital divide. What is the digital divide, and what implications for society and the individual are seen to arise from this. Digital inclusion network, an online exchange on topics related to the digital divide and digital inclusion. Bridging digital divide and the impact on poverty in nigeria. Perspectives from an egovernment portal in nigeria. That gap, the new digital divide, puts at risk much more than just online shopping revenue. The world bank therefore does not warrant that the use of any thirdpartyowned individual component or part contained in the work will not infringe on. The word divide suggests a significant barrier, one on a massive scale and hard to shift as in continental divide or great divide. A study of internet use in calabar metropolis, nigeria purpose the paper aims to.
Learn about nigerias challenges and achievements, and see what best practices are emerging from this. South africas high data costs mean free public internet access must be made a priority. Around the turn of the millennium, there was a lot of talk about the digital divide the gap between developed and developing countries that could open up as digital products and services transform the world. Profiles of innovators and leaders who make a difference pdf. On the other hand, if you live in pakistan, nigeria, egypt or bangladesh, where the digital economy and internet access are being stifled, economic growth takes a big hit too. The digital divide the gulf between those who have ready access to information and communication technologies icts such as computers and the internet and those who do not does exist in.
Thirdparty contentthe world bank does not necessarily own each component of the content contained within the work. Digital divide is inequality in access, distribution and use of. Home general bridging the digital divide in africa. The digital divide, or the digital split, is a social issue referring to the differing.
How to stop the digital divide that is happening in. The global digital divide and the effects of technology. Bridging the digital divide in nigerian information. Nevertheless, for retailers, it poses a serious threat to overall. Digital divide can be described as the information technology gap between. Education is the single biggest problem that may be bigger than every other problem because solving the education problem for the masses will help solve a lot of other problems because an educated population will bring progress, alleviate poverty.
When it comes to computing power, the gap between africa and the broadband world is still a grand canyon. The nigerian digital divide signifies the disparity among individuals who have internet accessibility and computers and those who do not. The digital divide, ict, and broadband internet ict information communications technologies. To develop and utilize the full potential of ict in nigeria, thereby bridging the digital divide, there is nee d to set up an effective ict taskforce with representatives from all stakeholders. What is the digital divide, and what implications for.
Ukheshe micropayments platform will be free to users during covid19 crisis. This paper describes the digital divide in africa with special reference to nigeria. Government needs to engage in innovative and sustainable partnerships, if universal internet access is to be achieved for all south africans. The digital divide, or the digital split, is a social issue referring to the differing amount of information between those who have access to the internet specially broadband access and those who do not have access. The digital divide encompasses differences in both access firstlevel digital divide and usage secondlevel digital divide of computers and the internet between 1 industrialized and developing countries global. The paper focuses on bridging the digital divide that exists between the. Digital libraries are emerging concepts in nigeria, and digital literacy is a necessary tool or skill needed in making use of resources in the digital library. A case study of the situation in india by anita sundaram a masters paper submitted to the faculty of the school of information and library science of the university of north carolina at chapel hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of science in information science. The survey report on internet development in rural china 2009, published by the china internet network information center last month april, is the fourth such annual report. Pdf the global nature of information and communications technology. Digital divide, term that describes the uneven distribution of information and communication technologies icts in society. The real threat to economic growth is the digital divide.
The main aim of this paper is to explore the digital divide in a developing country, turkey, and to highlight some approaches to bridge it. Africa and the digital divide enterra solutions, llc. Exploring the aspects of digital divide in a developing. The digital divide is a phenomenon linked not only to the topic of access to the internet, but also to the one of usage and usage benefit. Internet usage, poverty, lack of computer skills, and poor infrastructures were contributors to the digital divide. The digital divide and what to do about it eszter hargittai papersateszterdotcom sociology department princeton university this is a preprint version of the book chapter to appear in the new. The digital divide october 8, 2014 page 2 of 6 eliminate the digital divide law of 2000 illinois california advanced services fund of 20 massachusetts it bond bill of 2014 at the same time, 19 states currently restrict or ban municipal broadband services. The economist updates the situation in africa and reports that little has changed the digital gap, 20 october 2007 print edition. As used here, the term digital divide refers to the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels with regard both to their opportunities to access information and communication technologies icts. The term digital divide refers to the disparity in terms of access that has emerged. Nigerias digital divide refers to the inequality of nigerian individuals, groups, or organizations with regards to access to information and communications technology ict infrastructure or to the internet for municipal use within the nigerian community. We simply dont have the data in developing countries, and in global statistics, to know what the status quo is or whether the digital divide is being closed.
The goal of this book, is to highlight which factors influence a nations capacity to bridge the digital divide. How to fix the digital divide in africa, developing. In ghana the digital divide is primarily between its urban population the haves and its. Exploring digital divide in mobile phone ownership. Benefits derivable from bridging the digital divide such as making large regional, national and even global markets. Digital divide ict information communications technology. What will it take to bridge africas digital divide. Fairlie university of california, santa cruz prepared for adoption of ict enabled information systems for agricultural development workshop tokyo, japan august 24, 2008. Most nigerian libraries are faced with challenges in library usage and services due to inadequate literacy and digital skills required to make maximum use of digital library. Impact of the digital divide on computer use and internet. Nationaltelecomspolicynational%20policy%20on%20telecommunications. Digital divide is emphasized much on digital divide issues of hard work, technical infrastructure and connectivity loom large but these are not the only dimension of. To some extent, the evolution of mobile technology has narrowed that digital divide. Indeed, the earliest itu statistics on telecommunications published in 1871, recording data on tel egraph operations since 1849 show a.
Despite a rather successful state policy for some two decades, the old state policies can no longer keep up with new designs of digital equipment. Beijing despite recent rises in internet use, a wide digital divide still separates rural and urban china, according to a new report. The role of libraries goodluck ifijeh, juliana iwujames, oyeronke adebayo. Bridging the digital divide in nigerian information landscape. The concept digital divide has received significant attention in media and communication studies in the web 2. Development divide vs digital divide munich personal. The web foundations gender gap audit 2016, based on research conducted in 10 countries including kenya, mozambique, ghana, uganda, nigeria and egypt in africa, also raised concerns about the gender digital divide. South africa started the development of a local telecommunications industry in 1958. It stated that, without a major escalation of policy effort and investment, most of the benefits of technological change. The term digital divide refers to inequality in access to information and communication technology ict norris, 2001.
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