It is not good news at all that Bangladesh is lagging behind in terms of internet usage when the government has declared to build ‘smart Bangladesh’. According to the ‘Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023’ only 39 people in every 100 Bangladeshis use the internet, which is lower than the rate of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and several other countries with similar economic conditions.
The report presents a comparative picture of different countries on various IT (information technology) indicators, including use of the internet in the business sector and among common people.
It shows that Bangladesh is also lagging behind others in terms of usage of smartphones, internet speed and use of information and technology in the business sector. The rate of smartphone users in Bangladesh is 51.77 per cent, which is the lowest among the South Asian countries.
According to the World Bank, Bangladesh falls under the category of lower-middle-income country. The average rate of internet users in countries under this category is 56 per cent. The rate is 42 per cent on average in South Asia.
However, ICT department secretary Md Shamsul Arefin questioned the accuracy of the report saying the report doesn’t include the latest figures of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
According to the Sample Vital Statistics Report-2023 of the BBS, some 45.7 per cent of the people aged above 5 years use the internet. Even if it’s true, Bangladesh’s position in the ranking doesn’t change that much. The rate of internet users in India, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka are 46 per cent, 86 per cent, 52 per cent, 86 per cent and 44 per cent respectively.
The reason behind less Bangladeshi people using internet came up in a report titled ‘Broadband Commission’ published in September 2022. Citing the figures of the GSM (global organisation of mobile operators), the report says despite having a mobile phone, some 40 per cent of the Bangladeshi people don’t use internet on their phones due to lack of digital knowledge and competence. Apart from that, 26 per cent people don’t feel the need of using internet on phones and some 11 per cent don’t use internet as they cannot afford it. Besides, many are reluctant to use internet on mobile phones due to low internet speeds.
The World Bank report says some 32 per cent of the total population of Bangladesh use the internet on their phones. Among them 52 per cent are smartphone users, which is the lowest in South Asia. Even Afghanistan is ahead of Bangladesh in terms of smartphone users.
The policymakers of the government have been talking about building digital Bangladesh since coming to power in 2009. We don’t know whether any other country made such a declaration or not. The ruling party in their election manifesto made commitments of building a smart Bangladesh. But how is it possible when we are lagging behind in terms of internet users?
A study needs to be conducted to find out the reason behind such a low rate of internet users despite the low tariff on internet usage in Bangladesh. We still could not achieve the economic and educational capability to build a smart country. As the number of the rich is rising, so is the number of poor people.
So to increase the number of internet users we need to raise our economic affordability and educational competence. It is a good sign that financial transactions through the internet have increased. However, a section of internet financial service users are deprived of technological knowledge. They use it as they can transact money in the shortest possible time.