Examining the Global Digital Divide: A Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract

Despite the development of the information society and the widespread diffusion of information technology, the disparities between groups of countries in terms of accessing and using information and communication technologies (ICTs) are still valuable. This disparity is defined as the term of digital divide. Although there are several different views about measuring the digital divide, in this study, International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) ICT key indicators are used to measure the global digital divide. The cross-sectional data are collected for 145 countries in the world, for year 2011. One-way ANOVA and regression analysis are applied as statistical methods to analyze global digital divide. According to the results, variables related to development levels, income levels, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) membership and continental differences are highly associated with the digital divide.