Home Internet still rare in much of world

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Just under a third of adults worldwide report having home Internet access, a U.S. poll indicates.

The Gallup survey conducted in 148 countries found 32 percent of adults saying they had Internet access, up from 29 percent in 2010, 25 percent in 2009, 23 percent in 2008 and 21 percent in 2007.

While the poll confirmed a steady uptick each year the worldwide survey has been conducted, Gallup said in a release that in 41 of the nations, fewer than 1-in-10 adults said they had access to the Internet. And that figure fell below 1 percent in Burundi, Guinea, Mali and Madagascar.

Home Internet access also remains highly rare in Yemen, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Haiti, Gallup found.

On the other end of the scale, access in Sweden and Singapore was the highest worldwide, with 93 percent of residents in both countries reporting home Internet access.

The United States came in at 23rd on the list, Gallup said, with 80 percent of adults reporting access.

Gallup provided no information about why 68 percent of people worldwide have no home access, such as financial restraints, lack of service providers, or religious or philosophical reasons.

Results are based on telephone or face-to-face interviews with at least 1,000 adults in each country, age 15 and older, conducted in 2011, Gallup said. The margin of error ranges from 2 to 5.1 percentage points depending on the country.