UN report warns global digital divide may widen without targeted measures
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs released the World Social Report 2026 on October 15, saying economic, digital and energy transitions are reshaping the world at unprecedented speed while billions of people remain excluded from jobs, skills training, public services, infrastructure and social protection. The report says about 2.2 billion people still lacked internet access in 2025, and even those connected are constrained by high service costs and poor quality, limiting real participation in the digital society. It warns that without targeted measures, inequalities in connectivity, digital devices, data and AI skills could widen the existing digital divide and deepen gaps in education, income and economic opportunity, and calls for stronger international cooperation, expanded fiscal space and more representative, inclusive global governance.
The report frames unequal access to data and AI skills as a factor that could entrench existing inequality, a signal for governments to pair AI rollouts with connectivity and capability efforts.