Pakistan ranked least internet inclusive country in South Asia: report.

Byline: Ramsha Jahangir

KARACHI -- Pakistan has been ranked 76th out of 100 countries on the inclusive internet index 2020 released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), falling into the last quartile of the global index overall.

The 'Inclusive Internet Index' benchmarks countries on the internet's availability, affordability, relevance and the readiness of people to use it. The annual report is commissioned by Facebook.

In its fourth year, the index covered 100 countries, representing 91pc of the world's population and 96pc of global GDP.

On a scale of one (best) to 100 (worst), Pakistan stood at the 76th place out of the total countries surveyed.

According to the EIU, in 2020 Pakistan falls into the last quartile of the global internet index countries overall, and it ranks 24th out of 26 Asian countries.

Commissioned by Facebook, the exercise represents 91pc of the world's population

'Notable among its weaknesses is by far the largest gender gaps in the index, in both mobile and internet access. Low levels of digital literacy and relatively poor network quality are major impediments to internet inclusion,' the EIU said.

Among the four dimensions considered for the ranking - availability, affordability, relevance and readiness - Pakistan showed poor performance in all areas, the worst being in the availability category.

In terms of availability - a category that examines the quality and breadth of available infrastructure required for access and levels of internet usage - Pakistan ranked 86th out of 100.

The country fared relatively better on affordability (57th) that is described as the cost of access relative to income and the level of competition in the internet marketplace.

In terms of readiness - measured on the basis of access to internet, including skills, cultural acceptance, and supporting policy - the country ranked 64th. Finally, Pakistan stood 71st on relevance, which is the existence and extent of local language content and relevant content.

Looking at South Asia, Pakistan ranked the lowest, Bangladesh at 70th, Sri Lanka at 56 and India on the 46th spot.

The first country ranked in this year's index is Sweden, followed by New Zealand and the United States. Australia and Denmark both ranked fourth, followed by South Korea, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Spain.

Among the global worst are Burandi at 100th, Liberia, MadagAascar, Malawi and Burkina Faso.

3.5bn people remain unconnected

This year's index is accompanied...