Pakistan in 2022 remained among the world’s worst performers in terms of internet access and digital governance, claims a report titled “Pakistan’s Internet Landscape 2022″. The report released by human rights and advocacy organisation Bytes For All claims to look at the relationship between human rights and information and communication technologies in the country last year.
“In terms of internet access and overall governance, Pakistan made some gains, but in the context of the world, the country remains among the worst performers, even within just Asia,” according to the report. According to the report, Pakistan ranked last out of 22 countries in Asia overall, and 79 globally across the key indicators of availability, affordability, relevance and readiness.
What ails: Gender gap and lack of inclusivity
The report highlights that despite an increase in internet penetration, approximately 15 per cent of the population still lacked access to the internet and mobile or telecom services.
“Add to this a lack of inclusivity and digital literacy, one of the biggest global gender gaps in access and a struggle to stay online due to load-shedding and blackouts brought on by an energy crisis and catastrophic floods, and a dismal picture emerges,” it said. “A massive gender gap in both internet access and mobile phone access for females was noted as a major issue in the country,” in the report.
“In summary, Pakistan had the widest gender gap in mobile ownership of all countries surveyed with just half of women owning a mobile phone, as compared to over 75 per cent of men,” it stated.
‘Digital Pakistan’ still remains a pipe dream
The report further said that while both the federal and provincial governments introduced a number of online initiatives, the momentum for a ‘Digital Pakistan’ has made little progress.
It also said that cybercrime in Pakistan saw a steady rise, with over 100,000 complaints registered by December 2022, marking the highest number in the last five years.
“In terms of internet access and overall governance, Pakistan made some gains, but in the context of the world, the country remains among the worst performers, even within just Asia,” according to the report. According to the report, Pakistan ranked last out of 22 countries in Asia overall, and 79 globally across the key indicators of availability, affordability, relevance and readiness.
What ails: Gender gap and lack of inclusivity
The report highlights that despite an increase in internet penetration, approximately 15 per cent of the population still lacked access to the internet and mobile or telecom services.
“Add to this a lack of inclusivity and digital literacy, one of the biggest global gender gaps in access and a struggle to stay online due to load-shedding and blackouts brought on by an energy crisis and catastrophic floods, and a dismal picture emerges,” it said. “A massive gender gap in both internet access and mobile phone access for females was noted as a major issue in the country,” in the report.
“In summary, Pakistan had the widest gender gap in mobile ownership of all countries surveyed with just half of women owning a mobile phone, as compared to over 75 per cent of men,” it stated.
‘Digital Pakistan’ still remains a pipe dream
The report further said that while both the federal and provincial governments introduced a number of online initiatives, the momentum for a ‘Digital Pakistan’ has made little progress.
It also said that cybercrime in Pakistan saw a steady rise, with over 100,000 complaints registered by December 2022, marking the highest number in the last five years.
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