Pakistan ranked 76th out of 100 countries in the 2020 Inclusive Internet Index, conducted by the UK-based The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The index assesses on 56 indicators and four key categories – availability, affordability, relevance and readiness.

‘Availability’ means the quality and breath of infrastructure available for Internet usage, while ‘affordability’ examines the cost of access relative to income and competition in the market.

‘Relevance’ looks at the existence and extent of local language content online wile ‘readiness’ examines the skills, cultural acceptance and local supporting policies for the Internet.

Pakistan falls into the last quartile of indexed countries overall and 24th out of 26 Asian countries, according to the report.

Notable among its weaknesses are by far the largest gender gaps in the index, in both mobile and Internet access.

Low levels of digital literacy and relatively poor network quality are major impediments to Internet inclusion, the report said.

Under the sub-category of availability, the country ranked 86th. On affordability, it ranked 57th, on relevance 71st and on readiness 64th.

Sweden ranked number one on the overall index, followed by New Zealand and the United States.