MAHMUDUL HASAN

A sharp digital divide continues to shape Bangladesh’s connectivity landscape, with a 32.1 percentage points gap in internet use between rural and urban populations in the fiscal year 2024-25, according to the latest Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) survey.

The survey shows that 43.6 percent of people in rural areas use the internet, compared to 75.7 percent in urban areas, highlighting persistent inequality in access to digital services. Overall, 53.4 percent of the population is connected to the internet, meaning nearly half of Bangladesh remains offline.

The findings were presented on Tuesday at the BBS headquarters in Agargaon in a report titled ICT Access and Use by Households and Individuals Survey 2024-25.

The divide is also visible across regions. Household internet access is highest in Dhaka, while the lowest is recorded in Panchagarh. Computer use follows a similar pattern, with Dhaka reporting the highest levels and Thakurgaon the lowest.

The survey is the first time the BBS has released ICT data at the district level, providing detailed information on smartphone and mobile phone access nationwide. It covered around 264,000 households across 64 district domains, with about 4,125 households in each district.

Feni ranks highest in household smartphone access, while Panchagarh is the lowest.

Other high-access districts include Cumilla, Chattogram, Noakhali, Brahmanbaria, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Dhaka, Chandpur and Shariatpur. The lowest-performing group includes Kurigram, Jhalokati, Sherpur, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur and Gaibandha.

These gaps highlight how differences in infrastructure and income continue to leave many rural communities behind in Bangladesh’s digital economy.

Zulkarin Jahangir, assistant professor at North South University and a member of Unesco AI Ethics Experts Without Borders, said the latest figures showing a wide rural-urban digital usage gap are a warning sign in the age of AI.

“The digital divide is no longer only about access; it is about meaningful engagement and the ability to benefit from digital services,” he said.

“If nearly half of rural Bangladesh remains excluded from effective digital participation, the rapid integration of AI into public services risks deepening existing inequalities, creating what I call a compounded divide.”

He added that without targeted measures such as improving digital literacy, affordability and AI-ready public infrastructure, AI could widen rather than bridge the gap.