What will it take to bridge africas digital divide. Apr 16, 2015 determinants of a digital divide in subsaharan africa. Over the past 40 years, the gap between the rich and the poor has been growing. White paper bridging the digital divide in nigeria collaborating to expand opportunities nigeria is one of the bright stars of subsaharan africa.
The continents most populous country, nigeria has rich oil reserves, a growing middle class, a young democracy and. Exploring the aspects of digital divide in a developing country. Africa lags behind emerging asian and south american markets in internetbased gdp, but a focused strategy could yield massive social and economic gains. Boko harams deadly sevenyear insurgency across north eastern nigeria has hit the country with one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. This paper discusses the gap created by an international digital divide in africa.
Recent findings on mobile digital divide in nigeria are only based on various consulting reports, stating basic digital divide indicators. Instability has risen among the nigerian youth as they are overwhelmed by the capabilities and power of icts. 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. Impact of the digital divide on computer use and internet. The internet exerts substantial influence on economic growth and enables transformations in both the. A spatial econometric analysis of cell phone coverage. Ict roadmap 2017 to 2020 in nigeria and similar countries. Findings the findings of the survey show the prevalence of. Nigeria s youth population has also been significantly affected by the digital divide. While the group was at one stage in control of swathes of territory, a sustained operation by the. While subsaharan africa excluding south africa, has an average teledensity of one percent, north africa algeria, egypt, mauritania, morocco, tunisia has a comparable average of ten percent. Jan 29, 2012 maps help explain nigerias social divisions and potential for sectarian conflict. Affordability a survey by research ict africa19 disclosed that 70% of noninternet users in nigeria say affordability is the main reason.
Recent findings on mobile digital divide in nigeria are only. 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. Purpose the paper aims to discuss and investigate the prevalence of digital divide in nigeria, using university of calabar in calabar metropolis as a case study. The inequalities for nigerians in accessing the internet and the world wide web, the. The digital divide in america to exist is that not everyone realizes that some schools remain woefully underfunded. Designmethodologyapproach validated questionnaires were administered to internet users at designated cyber cafe in the university of calabar, calabar, nigeria. So presumably, the reason for a doc like rory kennedys without a net. Bridging the gap through ict in nigerian libraries. The first map shows the countrys major ethnic groups. Determinants of a digital divide in subsaharan africa. The ability of individuals and businesses to take advantage of the internet varies significantly across the oecd area as well as between oecd and nonmember countries. The digital divide can be defined as the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels with regard both to their opportunities to ac cess icts and to their use of the internet for a wide variety of activities oecd, 2001, p.
The internet exerts substantial influence on economic growth and enables transformations in both the public and the private sector for all. Definition the digital divide has been defined by the oecd 1 as the gap between different individuals. Employment and development implications the gaps and imbalances between industrialized and developing countries in a number of economic and social spheres are vast and increasing. The impact of digital divide on elearning in nigeria pdf. Federal assistance programs congressional research service 1 introduction the internet became publically available in the 1990s, and has evolved since that time as information has continually become digital e. This paper describes the digital divide in africa with special reference to nigeria. How can developing countries close the digital divide. The measure of the digital divide is not limited to access of the internet and measures other gaps such as access to mobile technology and other forms of communicative technology. The northsouth divide in nigeria is hiding one of the world.
What is the digital divide, and what implications for society. The nis portal is a rich context in which to study the digital divide. The digital divide is the discrepancy between africa and other nations in the usage of icts, such as telephony and the internet. Jan 11, 2012 nigeria should be africas powerhouse it is the continents biggest oil producer and most populous country. Maps explain nigerias social and religious divisions.
Introduction equitable access to information is an essential principle in a global information economy. Bridging a digital divide that leaves schoolchildren behind. The second map shows the countrys main religious divide. The term digital divide is used to describe situations where there are gaps in the market in terms of access to the use of ict devices singh, 2012. Maps help explain nigerias social divisions and potential for sectarian conflict. The continents most populous country, nigeria has rich oil reserves, a growing middle class, a young democracy and a youthful population. The digital divide reflects various differences among and within countries. Nigeria has been pushed hither and thither by recurrent crises of regional or state.
As people in developed countries gain greater exposure to these technologies, and at younger ages, the digital divide is widening. There are a number of major groups hausa, yoruba, igbo and many more smaller groups not listed. Most commentators view this in purely economic terms. Keywords digital divide, digital dividend, ict, professional practice, real estate, technology, nigeria, communication technologies paper type research paper 1. The full electronic participation in society ribble, 2011. Jul 31, 2007 purpose the paper aims to discuss and investigate the prevalence of digital divide in nigeria, using university of calabar in calabar metropolis as a case study. 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.
However, two other types of divide will have much greater impact in the years to come. People interested in the digital divide but who are not members are also invited to organize local meetups in which you can discuss the digital divide in your community and strategies for bridging it. The digital divide refers to the fact that certain parts of the population have substantially better opportunities to benefit from the new economy than other parts of the population. From nigeria to kenya, techinpink bridges digital divide from nigeria to kenya, techinpink bridges digital divide on february 1, 2017 3. Illiteracy rates for young men and women are also very high in the rural and urban settlements. Despite rapid growth in ict, the digital divide is common in subsaharan africa. From nigeria to kenya, techinpink bridges digital divide. Between 2000 and 2003, there was a growth rate of 59 percent in the number of schools with computers, mainly in secondary schools. Nigeria should be africas powerhouse it is the continents biggest oil producer and most populous country. The nigerian digital divide signifies the disparity among individuals who. Find other local people involved in the digital divide network, the internets largest network for activists seeking to bridge the digital divide. The goal of this book, is to highlight which factors influence a nations capacity to bridge the digital divide.
In 1960, per capita gdp in the richest 20 countries was 14 times that in the poorest 20 countries. The first identified element of digital citizenship pertains to digital access, which is defined as. A technology perspective 9 however contrary to this, the recently improved ict infrastructure investments in africa reveal the vibrant commitment governments, private sector and international communities are putting in trying to address the digital gap. How to stop the digital divide that is happening in nigeria. Conference paper pdf available december 2014 with 110,352 reads how we measure reads. To some extent, the evolution of mobile technology has narrowed that digital divide. Some of the key reasons for this are accessibility and affordability. For example, egypt has 17 times the fixed line penetration of nigeria. Sep, 2010 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. Despite a high growth rate, at the national level, 39 percent of schools in south africa have computers and 26 percent use computers for teaching and learning. Nevertheless, the digital divide continues to provoke intense debate, including within the wsis process. 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.
Nov 12, 2017 the divide is also alarming among the subsaharan countries where 47 per cent of the population of kenya, nigeria and south africa have access to the internet compared to eight per cent of the. Digital inclusion and the role of mobile in nigeria. Internet usage, poverty, lack of computer skills, and poor infrastructures were contributors to the digital divide. Authors in 14 claim that since 2004, the number of mobile subscribers has been growing linearly slow. Affordability a survey by research ict africa19 disclosed that 70%.
Many of those underserved schools are located just a few miles from fully equipped schools with. Digital divide widens in the gambia global development. The digital divide in america in a shockingly large number of schools, access to technology, connectivity, and teachertraining is nonexistent. The divide is also alarming among the subsaharan countries where 47 per cent of the population of kenya, nigeria and south africa have access. Nigeria digital economy diagnostic report world bank documents. 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 discussing specific examples ghana, south africa. Nigerias digital divide refers to the inequality of nigerian individuals, groups, or organizations. Home news from nigeria to kenya, techinpink bridges digital divide from nigeria to kenya, techinpink bridges digital divide on february 1, 2017 3. Benoit says our page will end up looking like source list.
123 1517 1123 48 1000 650 308 975 1225 827 688 1285 893 117 920 621 1433 701 178 462 1298 1479 111 1200 878 299 1223 1466 866 710 739