A new World Bank report has revealed that around 2.6 billion people, nearly one-third of the global population, remain without access to the Internet, a condition the institution describes as living in “digital darkness.”
The report, published under the Bank’s Education for Global Development series and titled Empowering Adult Learners: Navigating Digital Skills in the AI Era, highlights how the digital divide cuts across continents and economic levels.
“Even European Union countries are facing a stark reality, as nearly half of all adults struggle to navigate the digital landscape. At the same time, job markets are evolving at breakneck speed—demanding advanced skills in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and data science,” the report indicated.
The report maintained that those currently disconnected are not doomed to lag behind in a fast-advancing world. “Contrary to popular belief, age is not the biggest obstacle to acquiring new digital skills, even in regions like Europe and Central Asia, where populations are aging rapidly. Evidence indicates that people maintain their cognitive capacity as they age. In fact, rather than age, lack of access to training, fear of technology and negative past experiences might influence adults’ desire to learn digital skills to an even greater extent.”
It further emphasizes that “while adults are capable of learning, sustained engagement and practice through engaging and relevant training programmes are crucial for retaining and applying digital skills. This is especially relevant with the rise of AI. This technology demands that people of all age groups revisit and update traditional digital skills.”
Turning Challenge into Opportunity
The World Bank notes that the ongoing global shift toward a digital economy poses both challenges and tremendous opportunities for inclusion, innovation, and competitiveness.
To bridge the gap and empower individuals with essential digital skills, the Bank recommends a set of targeted national measures under its ACTS framework, Action strategy design, Coordination and collaboration, Train and upskill, and Systematic progress monitoring.
Under Action strategy design, countries are encouraged to craft a clear digital vision and roadmap. For example, “the World Bank is supporting Azerbaijan in developing a comprehensive Digital Skills Roadmap– a strategic plan aligning government policy to define digital priorities and improve coordination. The roadmap serves as a bridge between the government’s digital vision and the concrete actions needed to achieve it.”
Through Coordination and collaboration, governments can strengthen ties with educational institutions and the private sector.
The report cites Türkiye, where “the Bank is working with the government to advance one of the country’s key priorities towards accelerating digital development to produce skills required in the current and future labour market. A new initiative will equip over 10,000 schools with ICT labs, benefiting up to 3.7 million students nationwide.”
In the Train and upskill component, flexible and inclusive training formats are encouraged. “In Romania, the Digital Stars Project, a large-scale capacity-building initiative, will enhance the digital skills of 100,000 low-skilled citizens. Through an online training course delivered by 700 librarians across 560 newly established and modernised libraries, the program will develop digital skills and new employability opportunities.”
Lastly, Systematic progress monitoring ensures policies are guided by measurable results, stating, “In Kyrgyz Republic, the bank-funded Enhanced Digital Skills for Lifelong Learners grant under the Learning for the Future Project supports an impact evaluation of a technology teacher training programme which benefited 150 lower secondary informatics teachers and improved students’ digital skills across schools in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. The results will help inform future policy discussions.”
The Way Forward
With artificial intelligence and automation redefining the world of work, the Bank concludes that nations must move swiftly to ensure that learners of all ages can adapt and thrive.
“The time to act is now, as investing in adult digital skills is not just about addressing an urgent need but also about seizing the chance to drive inclusive growth and innovation across our societies. To succeed, we must learn from evidence and practice, adapt to the fast-changing digital world, and scale proven solutions so that no learner is left behind.”
