Globally, the number of individuals who have access and actively use the Internet differs, depending on the specific area. The % of the population using the Internet within different regions differs significantly, which is partially a result of technical difficulties associated with the ability to provide Internet connection in some developing countries. Initiatives, such as the one by Elon Musk aim to introduce a satellite technology that can help gain easy, cheap and universal access to the Internet, however, until this objective is reached one should consider the following statistics when planning business operations. According to these statistics, the distribution of Internet use is the following, Asia – 50.7%, Europe – 16%, Africa – 11.5%, and the Middle East – 3.9%. However, it is necessary to compare the penetration rates of the Internet, since these statistics provide a more accurate outlook on the access and use of the Internet globally.
According to the statistics, Europe has the highest level of penetration, with 87% of the population being able to access the Internet. In contrast, within the region of Asia, only half of the population, or 54% can access the Internet. The Middle East and Africa have the following distributions – 67.9% and 39.6% respectively. Hence, the global organisations that aim to establish worldwide networks can encounter challenges when entering the African and Asian markets. The level of Internet usage is very low in these areas, that can signify other cultural and technical challenges. For example, the population may lack the skills necessary to use information systems technology.
Moreover, the cultural attitudes of the people may obstruct globalisation and adoption of global networks due to concerns regarding the impact that these processes will have on the states. Another issue is that Asia and Africa have a larger population when compared to Europe and the Middle East. Despite this, the statistics of Internet penetration showcase low levels of Internet use. Hence, businesses may struggle with entering these markets and using their established processes and technology solutions.