The Countries With the Largest Offline Populations
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Key Takeaways
- India alone has more offline people than the entire population of the U.S. and Canada combined.
- Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the world’s highest offline population shares, often exceeding 70%.
Even as global internet adoption climbs, hundreds of millions of people remain offline. Access varies widely across regions, shaped by affordability, infrastructure, language barriers, and digital literacy.
This visualization ranks countries with the largest unconnected populations, revealing where the digital divide is most persistent. The gaps are especially notable in fast-growing economies where connectivity has not kept pace with population increases.
Largest Offline Populations, Ranked
The data comes from the We Are Social: Digital 2026 Global Overview Report. It lists the number of individuals without internet access and compares those figures to total national populations.
India Leads by Sheer Scale
India leads the world in unconnected populations, with over 440 million people still offline.
Strong mobile broadband growth has improved access, but the nation’s massive population base means that a 30% offline share still produces an exceptionally large number of disconnected users. This single nation has more offline individuals than the entire population of the U.S. and Canada combined.
| Rank | Country | Individuals Without Internet Access | % Offline | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  India |
440,123,000 | 30.0% | 1,467,076,667 |
| 2 |  Pakistan |
139,387,000 | 54.4% | 256,226,103 |
| 3 |  Nigeria |
130,044,000 | 54.5% | 238,612,844 |
| 4 |  China |
118,883,000 | 8.4% | 1,415,273,810 |
| 5 |  Ethiopia |
106,774,000 | 78.3% | 136,365,262 |
| 6 |  Bangladesh |
93,415,000 | 53.0% | 176,254,717 |
| 7 |  Congo (DRC) |
78,986,000 | 69.5% | 113,648,921 |
| 8 |  Indonesia |
55,823,000 | 19.5% | 286,271,795 |
| 9 |  Tanzania |
50,397,000 | 70.9% | 71,081,805 |
| 10 |  Uganda |
40,341,000 | 78.0% | 51,719,231 |
Sub-Saharan Africa Shows the Highest Offline Rates
Countries like Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda have offline shares between 70% and 80%. These high ratios reflect limited broadband infrastructure, lower device penetration, and higher data costs relative to income.
Even in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—two of Africa’s largest economies—more than half of the population remains offline.
Asia’s Mixed Connectivity Landscape
While China and Indonesia have large offline populations in absolute terms, their offline rates are substantially lower. China’s rate of just 8.4% reflects mature broadband development and widespread smartphone adoption. Indonesia’s connectivity has improved rapidly, but 55 million people remain unconnected due to geographic fragmentation across thousands of islands.
Meanwhile, Pakistan and Bangladesh face mid-range connectivity, with offline shares above 50% despite expanding mobile networks.
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