GSMA：移动影响报告：可持续发展目标（SDG） 2023 Mobile Industry Impact Report - Sustainable Development Goals

SummaryReport

MobileIndustry

2023

ImpactReport:

Sustainable

Development

Goals

September2023

TheGSMAisaglobalorganisationunifyingthemobileecosystemtodiscover,developanddeliverinnovationfoundationalto

positivebusinessenvironmentsand

societalchange.Ourvisionistounlockthefullpowerofconnectivitysothatpeople,industryandsocietythrive.

Representingmobileoperatorsand

organisationsfromacrossthemobile

ecosystemandadjacentindustries,theGSMAdeliversforitsmembersacrossthreebroadpillars:IndustryServices

andSolutions,ConnectivityforGood,andOutreach.Thisactivityincludes

underpinningthetechnologyand

interoperabilitythatmakemobile

work,advancingpolicy,tacklingtoday’s

biggestsocietalchallengesandprovidingtheworld’slargestplatformtoconvenethemobileecosystemattheMWCand

M360seriesofevents.

Weinviteyoutofindoutmoreat

.

FollowtheGSMAonX:

@GSMA

GSMAIntelligenceisthedefinitivesource

ofglobalmobileoperatordata,analysisandforecastsandthepublisherofauthoritativeindustryreportsandresearch.Ourdata

coverseveryoperatorgroup,networkand

MVNOineverycountryworldwide—from

AfghanistantoZimbabwe.Itisthemost

accurateandcompletesetofindustry

metricsavailable,comprisingtensofmillionsofindividualdatapoints,updateddaily.

GSMAIntelligenceisreliedonbyleading

operators,vendors,regulators,financial

institutionsandthird-partyindustryplayerstosupportstrategicdecision-makingandlong-terminvestmentplanning.Thedataisusedasanindustryreferencepointandisfrequentlycitedbythemediaandbythe

industryitself.

Ourteamofanalystsandexpertsproduceregularthought-leadingresearchreportsacrossarangeofindustrytopics.

info@

Toseethefullversionofthereport

online,pleasescantheQRcode

Contents

Forewords

1.Executivesummary

10

2.Mobile’simpactontheSDGs

atthehalfwaypoint

16

3.Lookingaheadto2030

28

4.Finalreflection:unlocking

thepotentialofmobile

32

Forewords

MatsGranryd

DirectorGeneral,GSMA

Thisyearmarkstheeighthyearsincethemobileindustrydemonstrated

itscommitmenttosustainable

development,becomingthefirst

industrytocommittothe17UN

SustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs).Aswereachthehalfwaypointfor

achievingthesegoals,nowistheperfecttimeforthemobileindustrytoreflect

onourachievements,examinethe

currentchallengesandsetoursights

ontheopportunitiesthatlieahead.

In2015,whentheworldadoptedthe

2030AgendaforSustainable

Development,themobileindustry’s

averageSDGimpactscorestoodat

33,achieving33%ofwhatitcould

potentiallycontributetotheSDGs.

Fastforwardto2022,andourindustry’saverageimpactscoreacrossthe17SDGsroseto53,demonstratingsignificant

progress.Notably,wehavewitnessed

substantialimprovementsincontributionstoSDG4:QualityEducation,SDG6:

CleanWaterandSanitation,andSDG7:

AffordableandCleanEnergy.These

advancementscanbeattributedtotheincreasingnumberofpeoplewhorelyonmobiletechnologytoaccess

educationalresources,usegovernmentservicesandmanagetheirbills.

Themobileindustry’sbiggestimpactcontinuestobeinSDG9:Industry,

InnovationandInfrastructure,driven

bythewidespreadreachofmobile

networks,investmentsin5Gand

infrastructureandthegrowinguptakeofmobileinternetservices.Overthe

pastsevenyears,closeto2billion

morepeoplehavegainedaccesstotheinternetthroughtheirmobilephones.

Thissignificantconnectivityachievementhasbroughtusclosertobridgingthe

digitaldivideandempoweringindividualswiththeresourcestheyneedtothrive.

Wehavealsomadesignificantprogress

inexpandingmobilebroadbandcoverage.Bytheendof2022,95%oftheglobal

populationhadaccesstomobile

broadbandcoverage,leavingonly400

millionpeoplewithoutconnectivity.

Consideringthatthisnumberstood

at1.8billionin2015,theremarkable

progressiscleartosee.Itbecomes

evenmoreremarkablewiththerealisationthatcountrieswithahighermobile

connectivityscoredobetteroverallintheimplementationoftheirSDGs.

Whilemuchhasbeenachieved,the

globallandscapehasalsoundergone

profoundtransformationsinrecent

years,presentingnewchallengesthat

hinderourprogresstowardstheSDGs.

TheCovid-19pandemic,conflicts,

climate-relateddisasters,theongoing

economiccrisisandhighinflationhave

significantlyimpactedourefforts.

Vulnerablepopulationshavebornethe

bruntofrisingenergyandfoodprices,

exacerbatingthecost-of-livingcrisis.

Inthiscontext,theworkwedoasan

industrytoadvancetheSDGsbecomes

evenmorecrucialinbuildingresilience

andcreatingasustainablefuture.

Whileweremainoptimisticaboutthe

potentialimpactwecanachieve,we

cannottakeprogressforgranted.The

flataverageSDGimpactscoreobserved

in2022meansthatwemustkeep

workingtogetheracrossthepublicand

privatesectorstoaccelerateourefforts

andincreasethescaleofourimpact.

Aswenavigatetowardsthe2030

SDGtargets,thisreportconsiders

howwecanaccelerateourefforts.

Byfocusingonunlockinggrowthin

mobileandmobileinternetadoption,

acceleratingtheusageofmobile-enabled

servicesandembracingsustainable

businesspractices,wecanmaximise

ourcontributionstotheSDGs.

Together,asanindustry,wehavethe

opportunitytodrivepositivechange,

empowercommunitiesandcreatea

sustainablefuturebyunlockingthe

powerofconnectivityandcreating

abetterfutureforall.

JoséMaríaÁlvarez-Pallete

ChairmanandCEO,Telefónica

Chairman,GSMA

AstheChairmanoftheGSMA,itis

withgreatpleasurethatIpresenttoyoutheeighthannualMobileIndustryImpactReportontheUNSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs).

Thisreportshowcasestheremarkableprogressandpotentialofthemobile

industryincontributingtotheSDGs.

Aswereachthehalfwaypointtowards2030,wemusttakestockofour

achievements,acknowledgethe

challenges,andidentifythepathforward.

Thereportpaintsavividpictureof

thecurrentstateoftheSDGsand

thecriticalrolemobiletechnology

playsinshapingourcollectivefuture.However,italsohighlightstheurgent

needforafundamentalshiftin

commitment,solidarity,financingand

actiontoputtheworldonabetterpath.

Thegloballandscapehasbeenshaped

bysignificantcrises–theCovid-19

pandemic,conflicts,climate-related

disastersandanongoingeconomic

crisiswithhighinflation.These

challengeshaveonlyexacerbated

thealreadyfalteringprogresstowardstheSDGs.Risingenergyandfood

pricesintensifythecost-of-livingcrisisanddisproportionallyaffectvulnerablepopulations.

Thereportrevealsthatonlyabout12%oftheoverallSDGtargetswithavailabledataareontrack,withnearlyhalfexperiencingmoderatetoseveredeviations.Alarmingfiguresindicatethat575millionpeople

willstillbelivinginextremepovertyby2030,andhungerlevelshaveregressedtothosenotseensince2005.

Yes,therearereasonstobealarmed

andworried.Yet,againstthisbackdrop,

Iamproudtobelongtoanindustry

thatplaysavitalrole,dayafterday,

inempoweringandbringingpeople

closertogether,buildingresilient

communitiesandtakingactiontobuild

asustainableandinclusivedigitalfuture.

Mobiletechnologyhasbecomethe

primarymeansofinternetaccessfor

billionsofpeople,especiallyinlow/

middleincomecountries,enabling

accesstocriticalinformation,services,

education,healthcareandincome-

generatingopportunities.Moreover,

mobileoperatorsworldwideare

increasingtheircommitmenttoreach

netzerocarbonemissionsandpromote

thecirculareconomywhilesupporting

thegreentransitioninotherindustries.

Thereporthighlightstheprogressmade

bythemobileindustryinincreasingits

impactoneachofthe17SDGssince

2015.Notably,theindustryachieved

itshighestimpactinSDG9:Industry,

InnovationandInfrastructure,driven

bythewidespreadreachofmobile

networksandmobileinternetadoption.

Thisisshowcasedthroughindustrycase

studiessuchasTelefonica’sincorporation

ofanethicalandsustainability

frameworkcalledResponsibleby

Design,bringingsustainabilityto

digitalsolutionsinnovation.

Additionally,significantstrideshave

beenmadeinreducingdisparitiesin

mobileinternetadoptionbetween

differentusersegments,supporting

SDG5:GenderEqualityandSDG10:

ReducedInequalities.

However,despitetheseachievements,

moremustbedonetoenhancemobile’s

contributiontotheSDGs.Themobile

industrymustcollaboratecloselywith

stakeholders,includinggovernments,otherindustries,civilsocietyandtheinternationalcommunity,toscaleupmobile’simpact.Thisreportserves

asacalltoaction,highlightingareaswheretheindustryneedstoimproveoraccelerateitsactionstoachievethe2030agenda.

Lookingahead,thereportpresentsavisionofthefuture,emphasisingtheimportanceofunlockinggrowthinmobileandmobileinternet

adoption,acceleratingtheusage

ofmobile-enabledservicesand

leveragingemergingtechnologies

suchas5GandIoTtodriveprogress.

Itisessentialthattelecommunications

infrastructureisrecognisedasa

sustainableinvestment.

Iinviteyoutoexplorethefindingsofthis

reportandjoinusinthecollectiveeffort

tounleashthepowerofconnectivity,

transformlivesandcreateabetterfuture

forall.Together,wecanovercomethe

challengeswefaceandbuildasustainable

worldthatleavesnoonebehind.

DoreenBogdan-Martin

Secretary-General,International

TelecommunicationUnion

TheInternationalTelecommunicationUnion(ITU)hasbeenaccompanyingcountriesontheirtechnological

journeyssince1865.Thishastaughtus

thatgreatinnovationopportunitiesoftencomewithequallyformidablechallenges.

Asthedigitallandscapeisshifting

beneathourfeet,presentinggreat

challengesbutalsounprecedentedopportunitiestoaddressourmost

pressingglobalchallenges,achieving

all17SustainableDevelopmentGoals

(SDGs)bytheendofthedecadeis

oneoftheworld’sgreatesttestsyet.

Meanwhile,aboutathirdofhumanity

isstillunconnected,withwomen

accountingforadisproportionateand

growingshareoftheglobaloffline

population.And,whileweknow

digitalinclusionandskillsarecatalysts

fortheSDGs,lessthanhalfofthe

world’scountriestrackdigitalskills.

Thechallengesarevast,butthe

reasontohopeisbiggerstill:we

havethetechnologiesweneed

todeliveronthe2030Agenda

forSustainableDevelopment.

Mobileconnectivityisoneof

them,withfar-reachingimpacts

forcommunitieseverywhere.

That’swhy,earlierthisyear,Ichallengedthemobileindustrytostepupefforts

insteeringtheworldontoamore

sustainableandresilientpathwhile

leavingnoonebehind.The2023

editionoftheGSMA’sMobileIndustryImpactReportshowshowthey’re

doingjustthat.

Thesepagesrevealconcreteexamples

ofhowthemobileindustryiscontributingtoglobalsustainabledevelopment,

especiallybymakingtechnologymoreinclusiveandmeaningfulforthemostvulnerableamongus.Oneexampleishowmobileinternetisnowusedby

47percentoftheworld’spoorest40percent—theequivalentto1.5billionpeople.

TheGSMA’simpactscoresforeach

SDGarebasedontwoenablers:

connectivityandsustainablebusinesspractices.Botharecloselytiedto

theITU’sstrategicgoalsofuniversalconnectivityandsustainabledigitaltransformation,reflectingourunifiedapproachtoSDGaction.

Thisreportreaffirmsthatmeaningfulconnectivityiswhereourefforts

mustbelaser-focused,andthat

ourworkcannotstoponcenetworkinfrastructureisinplace.Devices

mustbemademoreaffordablesothateveryonecanaccessthewealthof

opportunitiesthatbeingonlineoffers.

TheITUalsoapplaudsoperators’

commitmenttoenvironmental

action.Wewelcomethelaunchof

theGSMA’sESGMetricsforMobile,

whichcomplementITUtechnical

standardsonmobilenetworkenergy

efficiency,tohelpputtheindustryon

thepathtonetzero.

Ittakesthecollectiveeffortofevery

economicsector,government,academic

institutionandinternationalorganisation

todeliveronthe2030Agenda.Allof

ushavearoleinmakingconnectivity

sustainableanduniversalintheservice

ofeachSDG.

Thisyear’sMobileIndustryImpact

Reportservesasavaluableinputin

alonglineofresearch.

TheITUrecentlycollaboratedwiththe

UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme,

theBostonConsultingGroupandthe

InteramericanDevelopmentBankto

explorehowdigitaltransformation

canaccelerateprogressontheSDGs.

Infact,theentireUNsystemisworking

tirelesslyonarescueplanforpeople

andplanetthroughtheSDGSummit,

OurCommonAgenda,andother

multi-stakeholderprocesses.

Mobilemustbepartofourdriveto

puttheSDGsbackontrack.

Theworldcannotwait.Thefateofall

theunconnectedandallthosestruggling

tostayonlineisinthebalance.What’s

atstakeishumanity’srelationshipwith

technologyandourabilitytokeepthis

planethealthyforfuturegenerations.

Ourgoalmustbenothinglessthanan

inclusiveandsustainabledigitalfuturefor

allbeforetheendofthisdecisivedecade.

10

01

Executive

Summary

Theworldisnotontracktoachievethe2030Agenda

Underpinningthe2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopmentisasharedpromisebyeverycountrytoworktogethertosecuretherightsand

wellbeingofeveryoneonahealthy,thrivingplanet.However,atthe

halfwaypointonthewayto2030,theSustainableDevelopmentGoals

(SDGs)areindeeptrouble.1

1ProgresstowardstheSustainableDevelopmentGoals:TowardsaRescuePlanforPeopleandPlanet,UN,2023

TheCovid-19pandemic,warinUkraine

andclimate-relateddisastershaveslowedthealreadyfalteringprogressoftheSDGs.Meanwhile,thecost-of-livingcrisishas

affectedeconomiesglobally,with

vulnerablepopulationsmostaffected

byrisingpricesforenergyandfood.

ApreliminaryUNassessmentof140

SDGtargetsthathavedataavailableshowsthatonlyabout12%areontrack.Close

tohalfareshowingprogressbutare

moderatelyorseverelyofftrack,and

30%haveeitherseennomovementorhaveregressedbelowthe2015baseline.2

Theimplicationsarestark.Withthecurrenttrends,575millionpeoplewillstillbelivinginextremepovertyin2030andonlyaboutathirdofcountrieswillmeetthetargetto

halvenationalpovertylevels.3Moreover,theworldisbackathungerlevelsnotseensince2005.Foodpricesremainhigherinmore

countriesthaninthe2015–2019period.4

Afundamentalshiftisthereforeneeded–incommitment,solidarity,financingandaction–toputtheworldonabetterpath.Themobileindustryhasanimportantroletoplayinfacilitatingthisshift.

MobileisintegraltoadvancingtheSDGs

Mobileistheprimary(insomecases,only)waymostpeopleinlow-andmiddle-incomecountries(LMICs)accesstheinternet.It

providesaccesstocriticalinformationandservicessuchaseducation,healthcare

andfinancialservices,aswellasincome-generatingopportunities.Meanwhile,

mobileoperatorsworldwideareincreasingtheircommitmentstoreachnetzero

carbonemissions5andsupportingthegreentransitionacrossotherindustries.

However,atthehalfwaypoint,morecanbedonetoimprovemobile’scontributiontotheSDGs.Themobileindustrymustthereforeworkcloselywithstakeholders,including

governments,otherindustries,civilsocietyandtheinternationalcommunity,tofind

newwaystoscaletheimpactofmobile.

ThiseightheditionoftheannualSDG

reportdemonstratesthemobileindustry’scontinuedcommitmenttothegoals,andidentifiesareaswheretheindustryneedstoimproveoraccelerateitsactionstoachievethe2030Agenda.

2

3

4

5

Ibid

/goals/goal1

/goals/goal2

MobileNetZeroStateoftheIndustryonClimateAction2023,GSMA,2023

2023MobileIndustryImpactReportSummary11

Mobile’simpactontheSDGs

1.Since2015,themobileindustryhasincreaseditsimpactoneachofthe

17SDGs.In2022,theaverageSDGimpactscoreacrossthe17goalswas53.

Thismeanstheindustryachieved53%ofitspotentialcontributiontotheSDGs–upfrom33%in2015.

2.Countrieswithhigherlevelsofmobileconnectivityhaveachievedgreater

progresstowardsmeetingtheSDGs.Countriesthathaveachievedthebiggestimprovementsinmobileconnectivityhavealsotypicallyachievedgreater

improvementsinSDGimplementation.

3.Risingmobileinternetadoptionhascontributedtowardsprogressacrossall

SDGs.Overthepastsevenyears,nearly2billionpeoplehavegainedaccesstotheinternetthroughamobile.Bytheendof2022,57%oftheworld’spopulation(4.5billionpeople)wasusingmobileinternet.Thispavesthewayforindividualstoengageinarangeofonlineactivities,withaccesstovitalinformationand

life-enhancingtoolsthatcontributetoseveralSDGs.

4.ImprovementsintheSDGimpactscoresstalledin2022.Thiswasduetoa

declineintheproportionofmobilesubscribersengaginginactivitiesontheirphonesrelevanttotheSDGs.Whilemobileuseacrosstheseactivitiesremainedhigherthanbeforethepandemic,theresumptionofin-personengagements

acrosssectorssuchaseducationandhealthcareislikelyhavinganimpactonuserbehaviour.Thecost-of-livingcrisisisalsolikelytobeimpedingusage,astheglobalriseininflationisputtingpressureonconsumersandpotentially

hinderingtheirabilitytofullyusemobileservices.

5.Basedonthecurrenttrajectory,mobilewillreach76%ofitsfullpotential

impactontheSDGsby2030.However,thestalledprogressobservedin2022underscorestheuncertaintyaheadandtheimportanceofacceleratingthe

industry’scontribution.

122023MobileIndustryImpactReportSummary

13

Adoptionamong

underservedgroups

47%

oftheworld’spoorest

40%,or1.5billionpeople,usemobileinternet

Mobileindustry

commitmentto

netzerotarget

43%

ofthemobileindustrybyrevenuehascommittedtoreachnetzeroby2050orearlier

Keyfindings

Mobileinternet

ad

by

Mobileinternetadoptionwillreach65%ofthe

populationby2030

Globalmobile

broadbandcoverage

5%

oftheworld’spopulationlivesinareaswithout

mobilecoverage

2030

142023MobileIndustryImpactReportSummary

Accesstoeducationviamobile

42%

ofmobilesubscribers,or2.3billionpeople,usemobiletoaccess

educationalinformation

forthemselvesortheirchildren

Accesstofinancialservicesviamobile

49%

ofmobilesubscribers,

or2.6billionpeople,usemobilefinancialservices

IoTconnections

品×2

TotalIoTconnectionsareexpectedtomorethan

doublebetween2022and2030

4G,5Ganddownloadspeeds

4G’sshareof

totalmobile

connections

quadrupled

between2015

and2022

×4

>10%

5Gsurpassed

10%oftotal

connections

in2022

Together,these

havefacilitated

afivefold

improvement

inaveragemobile

downloadspeeds

between2015

and2022

66×5

Source:GSMAIntelligence-calculationsofdataprovidedbyOokla®SpeedtestIntelligence®

2023MobileIndustryImpactReportSummary15

16

02

Mobile’simpact

ontheSDGs

atthehalfwaypoint

TheGSMAhasdevelopedamethodologytomeasureandtrackthe

impactofthemobileindustryacrossall17SDGsannually.Foreach

SDG,an‘impactscore’iscalculatedoutof100.Ascoreofzeromeans

theindustryishavingnoimpactatall,whileascoreof100means

theindustryisdoingeverythingpossibletocontributetothatSDG.

Theimpactscoresareunderpinnedbytwoenablers:connectivityand

sustainablebusinesspractices.Amoredetaileddescriptionisprovided

inthe2023MobileIndustryImpactReportMethodology.6

6

/betterfuture/2023sdgimpactreport

Mobile’simpactontheSDGshasgrownsignificantlysince2015

In2015,theyearthatmarkedtheadoption

ofthe2030AgendaforSustainable

Development,themobileindustry’saverageSDGimpactscorewas33.SDG9:Industry,InnovationandInfrastructurewastheonlySDGwherethemobileindustryscoredmorethan40.Theindustryscoredlessthan30onfourSDGs.

ThemobileindustryhassubsequentlymadestrongprogressinincreasingitsimpactontheSDGs.By2022,theaverageSDGimpactscoreacrossthe17SDGsreached53.Thismeans

themobileindustryisachieving53%ofwhatitcouldpotentiallycontributetotheSDGs.Furthermore,therearenow11SDGswheremobile’scontributionisabove50,whileall

SDGsscoremorethan40.

Thebiggestimprovementssince2015have

beenrecordedintheindustry’scontribution

toSDG4:QualityEducation,SDG6:Clean

WaterandSanitation,andSDG7:Affordable

andCleanEnergy.Thisisduetotheincreasingproportionofpeopleusingmobileforactivities

suchasobtainingeducationalinformation

forthemselvesortheirchildren,accessing

governmentservicesandpayingbills.The

improvementinimpactscoresforSDGs6

and7wasalsodrivenbygrowthinsmart

utilityconnections,whichwasthefastest-

growingIoTverticalbetween2015and2022,accordingtoGSMAIntelligencedata.

Whilemobile’simpactontheSDGshas

grownsignificantlysince2015,theaverageSDGimpactscorestalledin2022.ThiswasduetoadeclineintheproportionofmobilesubscribersengaginginactivitiesontheirphonesrelevanttotheSDGs.Whilemobileuseacrosstheseactivitiesremainedhigherthanbeforethepandemic,theresumptionofin-personengagementsacrosssectors

suchaseducationandhealthcareislikelyhavinganimpactonuserbehaviour.Theimpactofthecost-of-livingcrisisisalsolikelytobeimpedingusage,astheglobalriseininflationisputtingpressureon

consumersandpotentiallyhinderingtheirabilitytofullyusemobileservices.

2023MobileIndustryImpactReportSummary17

Figure1|SDGmobileimpactscores

44

46

47

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

60

59

56

48

49

51

56

55

55

52

55

53

54

53

20152016-2022Improvement

Note:Scoresroundedtothenearestwholenumber

Source:GSMAIntelligence

182023MobileIndustryImpactReportSummary

Mobileistheprimarymeansofaccessingtheinternetforbillionsofpeople

ThemobileindustrycontinuestoachieveitshighestimpactonSDG9:Industry,InnovationandInfrastructure,drivenbythereachof

mobilenetworksandthetake-upofmobileinternetservices.Overthepastsevenyears,nearly2billionpeoplehavegainedaccess

totheinternetonamobilephone.Bythe

endof2022,57%oftheworld’spopulation(4.5billionpeople)wasusingmobileinternet.

Furthermore,theshareoftheworld’s

populationlivinginareaswithoutmobile

broadbandcoveragestoodatjust5%atthe

endof2022,meaning400millionpeople

arestillnotcoveredbyamobilebroadband

network(comparedto1.8billionpeoplein

2015).Thereductioninthesizeofthecoveragegaphasslowedsince2018,highlightinghow

theremaininguncoveredcommunities–

whicharepredominantlyrural,poorand

sparselypopulated–arethemostchallengingtoreachinafinanciallysustainablemanner.

Amuchlargerproportionoftheunconnected

liveinareasalreadycoveredbymobile

broadbandnetworks.Bytheendof2022,

38%oftheworld’spopulation(3billion

people)livedwithinthefootprintofamobilebroadbandnetworkbutwerenotusing

mobileinternet.Whilethisusagegap

remainedrelativelyunchangedbetween2015and2019,itdeclinedbyaround300millionpeopleinboth2020and2021,and210millionpeoplein2022.However,theusagegapremainssubstantialandis7.5×thesizeofthecoveragegap.

2023MobileIndustryImpactReportSummary19

Figure2|Globalmobileinternetconnectivity:coverageandusagegaps

Percentageofpopulation

18%

47%

35%

2015

14%

46%

39%

2016

11%

46%

43%

2017

8%

46%

46%

2018

7%

45%

49%

2019

6%

42%

52%

2020

5%

40%

55%

2021

5%38%

57%

2022

Coveragegap

Note:Totalsmaynotaddupduetorounding.

UniquesubscriberdataissourcedfromGSMAIntelligence,combiningdatareportedbymobileoperatorswiththe

annualGSMAIntelligenceConsumersinFocusSurvey.CoveragedataissourcedfromGSMAIntelligence,combiningdatareportedbymobileoperatorsandnationalregulatoryauthorities.PopulationdataissourcedfromtheWorldBank.

Connected

Usagegap

Source:GSMAIntelligence

Progresshasalsobeenmadeinreducing

disparitiesinmobileinternetadoption

betweendifferentusersegments,supportingtheindustry’scontributiontoSDG5:GenderEqualityandSDG10:ReducedInequalities.

Examplesincludethefollowing:

Since2015,therehavebeen410million

newmobileinternetsubscribersinruralareas.Consequently,ruralmobileinternetadoptionreached41%(1.4billionpeople)attheendof2022.

Mobileinternetisusedby47%ofthe

world’spoorest40%,7whichisequivalentto1.5billionpeopleandrepresentsan

increaseof710millionpeoplesince2015.

61%ofwomeninLMICsnowusemobile

internet,comparedto75%ofmen.While1.4billionwomenareusingmobileinternet(470millionmorethanin2017),therearestill310millionfewerwomenthanmen

doingso.Thisequatestoa19%mobileinternetgendergap(comparedto25%in2017).8

xxx

7Thiscalculationofmobilepenetrationtakesintoaccountthepoorest40%ofpopulationineachcountry.

8

TheMobileGenderGapReport2023,GSMA,2023

202023MobileIndustryImpactReportSummary

Mobiletechnologyhelpingtoimprovelives

Theimportanceofmobiletechnologyinimprovinglivesisevidentfromlookingatthe

relationshipbetweentwoindices:onethattracksprogressontheimplementationoftheSDGs(SDGIndex9)andonethatmeasurestheenablersofmobileinternetadoption

(MobileConnectivityIndex10).

Figure3ashowsthatcountrieswithhighermobileconnectivityscoreshaveachieved

greaterprogressinSDGimplementation,whilecountrieswithlowermobileconnectivityscoreshaveachievedlessprogress.Thesecorrelationsalsoholdifwecontrolfor