Measuring digital development – Facts and Figures: Focus on Small Island Developing States, March 2024

The Facts and Figures: Focus on Small Island Developing States report shows that the growth of Internet use in SIDS since the third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS3) held in 2014 was higher than the global growth; between 2014 – 2023, the annual growth rate in SIDS was 8.4 per cent, surpassing the global growth rate of 6.7 per cent.

In 2023, 67 per cent of the SIDS population was online, in line with the world’s average, which shows that there is a high demand for ICT services in the SIDS. However, infrastructure, capacity and affordability remain key barriers to connectivity.

Released to coincide with the Fourth United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States, the report equips stakeholders with accurate data to inform their discussions and guide their decisions toward universal and meaningful connectivity.