Digital Economy Report: Digital divides threaten to leave least developed countries even further behind

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2019 Digital Economy Report highlighted that the ‘widening digital divides threaten to leave developing countries, and especially least developed countries even further behind’. The report underlines that the digital divides are still a challenge given that half of the world is still not connected to the Internet, and only one in five persons in least developing countries is online. UNCTAD also addressed the issue of the gender digital divide which is most present in the world’s poorest economies. Opportunities offered by the digital economy and empowerment of women entrepreneurs could help bridge the existing gender digital divide and ultimately improve the well-being of women and society as a whole.