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State of digital development and trends in the Americas region: Challenges and opportunities

Geneva: ITU (2025), v, 51 pp.

"This publication provides an in-depth look at digital development across the region, revealing both substantial progress and areas where challenges persist. Internet use is widespread, with nearly nine in ten people online. In a milestone achievement, the Americas is the only region to have fully b ... more

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State of Internet Freedom in Africa 2025: Navigating the Implications of AI on Digital Democracy in Africa

CIPESA (2025), 74 pp.

"While AI offers potential benefits across various sectors, its deployment by businesses and governments and application by individuals present new opportunities while raising significant concerns. More specifically, most African countries do not have legal or regulatory measures on the ethical and ... more

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State of digital development and trends in Asia and the Pacific: Challenges and opportunities

Geneva: ITU (2025), iv, 53 pp.

"[...] While mobile broadband covers over 95 per cent of the population, disparities persist. High-income economies lead in 5G deployment and innovation, while lower-income countries face infrastructure, affordability, and digital literacy gaps. The urban-rural divide remains, and women and marginal ... more

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Atlas de Inteligencia Artificial para el Desarrollo Humano de América Latina y el Caribe
Deep Insights

Gustavo Beliz et al.

Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) (2025), 466 pp.

"La Inteligencia Artificial (IA) está reconfigurando las economías, las sociedades y la gobernanza en todo el mundo. En América Latina y el Caribe, el Atlas de IA para el Desarrollo Humano ofrece una guía estratégica para navegar esta transformación. El Atlas mapea el impacto de la IA en cuatr ... more

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Índice Latinoamericano de Inteligencia Artificial (ILIA) 2025
Deep Insights

Álvaro Soto, Rodrigo Durán, Antonia Moreno, Sebastián Adasme, Sebastián Rovira, Valeria Jordán, Laura Poveda (coord.)

Santiago de Chile: Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL); Centro Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (2025), 195 pp.

"El Índice Latinoamericano de Inteligencia Artificial (ILIA) constituye un esfuerzo pionero para medir de manera sistemática el avance de la IA en 19 países de la región. El ILIA busca no solo monitorear el grado de preparación, adopción y gobernanza, sino también difundir buenas prácticas, ... además de ser un instrumento para orientar políticas públicas que incorporen la IA al modelo de desarrollo de los países de manera integral. El índice se organiza en tres dimensiones: Factores Habilitantes (infraestructura digital, talento humano y datos), Investigación, Desarrollo y Adopción, y Gobernanza. A partir de más de cien subindicadores, el ILIA 2025 ofrece un panorama detallado sobre avances, brechas y oportunidades estratégicas en el despliegue de la IA en América Latina y el Caribe. [...] Once hallazgos principales del ILIA 2025: i) El despertar de los adoptantes tardíos. Ecuador, Costa Rica, República Dominicana y Guatemala muestran mejoras aceleradas en conectividad, talento y estrategias de IA, reduciendo distancia con los países líderes, y abriendo oportunidades que parecían improbables para una cooperación regional. ii) Código abierto: la oportunidad para América Latina y el Caribe. El alto desempeño de Honduras, El Salvador y Cuba en producción de software abierto confirma que este modelo ofrece una vía estratégica para desarrollar soluciones locales, fomentar la colaboración regional y el aprendizaje colectivo, además de promover la transparencia algorítmica. iii) Muchos datos, pero poca disponibilidad. La región produce grandes volúmenes de información, pero su apertura y estandarización siguen siendo limitadas. Esto restringe la ciencia abierta, reduce la transparencia y frena el desarrollo de soluciones locales de IA. iv) Talento humano: alfabetización, poca especialización. La alfabetización en IA duplica a la formación profesional y cuadruplica al talento especializado. Aunque se amplían programas escolares y posgrados, persiste un embudo en la formación avanzada que limita el potencial de la región para producir soluciones propias. v) Talento e infraestructura para la soberanía digital. Brasil concentra más del 90% de la capacidad de cómputo de alto rendimiento de la región. Aunque Uruguay, Costa Rica y Colombia muestran mejores indicadores per cápita en Unidades de Procesamiento Gráfico (GPU por sus siglas en inglés), más de la mitad de los países carecen de infraestructura crítica, lo que refuerza asimetrías. Además, 13 de los 19 países no generan habilidades tempranas en IA en el currículo educativo y 11 no cuentan con programas de doctorado en IA en sus universidades. Sin fortalecer estas capacidades endógenas, la región corre el riesgo de generar soluciones de IA sesgadas y con baja pertinencia local. vi) IA Generativa: una oportunidad de democratización del acceso. La IA generativa ha democratizado el acceso y acelerado la adopción gracias a sus bajas barreras de entrada y a interfaces simples que permiten a no expertos usar modelos avanzados. Países como Chile, Costa Rica, Perú, Uruguay, Panamá y República Dominicana destacan en uso, y ALC es ya la tercera región del mundo en descargas de aplicaciones de IA Gen (15%–20%). Esta accesibilidad actúa como catalizador y, junto con el desarrollo de software y el código abierto, compensa déficits de cómputo, abriendo oportunidades para toda la región. vii) IA y participación ciudadana: un cambio de paradigma desaprovechado. Aunque la IA podría revolucionar la democracia digital, su uso se limita en la mayoría de los países a chatbots informativos y no en herramientas de consulta, de rendición de cuentas o de co-creación de políticas públicas. Colombia, México y Perú muestran algunos avances, pero ocho países no registran ningún caso de aplicación. viii) Investigación escasa y concentrada. Brasil y México reúnen el 68% de los investigadores activos en IA y, junto a Colombia, Chile y Argentina, concentran el 90% de las publicaciones. Solo siete países participan en conferencias internacionales de élite, con predominio de Chile y Brasil. La escasa presencia en foros académicos de alto impacto reduce la visibilidad y la transferencia de conocimiento de la IA de la región; la actividad académica sigue rezagada y requiere mayor atención en la mayoría de los países. ix) Gobernanza en IA: mucho plan y poca acción. Nueve países cuentan con estrategias nacionales de IA, pero solo unos pocos han asignado presupuesto, definido planes de implementación o establecidos indicadores de impacto. Sin mecanismos de ejecución, estas estrategias corren el riesgo de quedarse en meras declaraciones. Al mismo tiempo, mientras a nivel global avanza la apertura e interoperabilidad de datos, la región mantiene un ritmo lento, centrado en debates normativos y éticos. El verdadero desafío es equilibrar la regulación con políticas orientadas al desarrollo y a la implementación efectiva de la IA, de modo que esta tecnología genere valor sin frenar la innovación. x) Sustentabilidad: un llamado urgente. Solo cuatro países (Brasil, Chile, Colombia y México) muestran industrias de centros de datos robustas, y uno de cada cinco centros cumple con estándares internacionales de sustentabilidad. La mayoría de las políticas de IA y digitalización omite el impacto ambiental, lo que puede entrar en contradicción con los objetivos de sostenibilidad medioambiental de la región. xi) Emprendimiento en IA: una oportunidad para la región. Los 19 países ILIA concentran sólo el 1,12% de la inversión global en IA y cuenta con empresas unicornios en apenas seis países. No obstante, el ILIA muestra que no es necesaria una matriz productiva compleja para fomentar el desarrollo de empresas de IA locales y el uso de esta tecnología en el sector productivo. Entornos favorables de innovación y emprendimiento, inversión y políticas de desarrollo productivo pueden detonar dinámicas innovadoras." (Resumen ejecutivo, páginas 15-16) more

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Mapping of media assistance and journalism support programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Deep Insights

Sarah Chiumbu

Brussels: Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) (2025), 30 pp.

"This report presents a mapping of 326 media assistance and journalism-support programmes implemented across Sub-Saharan Africa between 2020 and 2025. It provides an overview of how bilateral donors, philanthropic foundations and international and local organisations are supporting the region’s me ... more

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Gendered inequalities of platform work in Africa: Findings from a multi-country analysis

Batoul Al Medhar, Sharon Geeling, Nagla Rizk, Funda Ustek Spilda, Eisha Afifi, Joseph Budu, Pitso Tsibolane et al.

Platforms & Society, volume 2 (2025), 16 pp.

"Hopes that the growth of platform work in Africa will provide new opportunities for women’s employment have not yet been matched by empirical research. Based on a five-country survey of workers on 18 platforms across four sectors (ride-hailing, delivery, professional, microtasks), the research re ... more

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State of digital development and trends in the Arab States region: Challenges and opportunities

Geneva: ITU (2025), iv, 53 pp.

"This report offers a comprehensive snapshot of the region’s digital landscape, highlighting both remarkable progress and persisting challenges. Ninety-five per cent of the population in this region is covered by mobile broadband networks, and more than half of the countries have already achieved ... more

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Mapping of media assistance and journalism support programmes in the Levant region
Deep Insights

Emmanuel-Pierre Guittet, Ghias Al Juni, Aida Ail-Kaisy

Brussels: Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) (2025), 11 pp.

"Using the OECD Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment as a lens, the GFMD mapping highlights several pressing issues. 1. The dominance of governmental funding, particularly from the United States, underscores the sector’s heavy reliance on a narrow ... more

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The State of AI in Africa Report

Nairobi: Strathmore University, Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) (2025), 67 pp.

"The State of AI in Africa Report 2025 offers a critical reflection on how AI ecosystems across the continent have evolved since 2023, highlighting advances in infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, capacity building, and sectoral innovation, while also surfacing enduring structural disparities. Thi ... s report reveals a continent that is no longer on the margins of AI development but actively reshaping how AI is conceived, deployed, and governed. Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana have made notable strides in anchoring AI within national digital strategies, strengthening local innovation ecosystems, and investing in foundational infrastructure such as data centres and broadband connectivity. The growing presence of indigenous datasets, grassroots NLP initiatives, and AI models tailored to African realities reflects a broader shift from consumption to creation. Yet this progress remains uneven. While pockets of excellence are emerging, many regions continue to grapple with limited access to reliable electricity, fragmented regulation, data governance challenges, and critical skill shortages. Central Africa, in particular, still faces infrastructural and institutional constraints that hinder meaningful participation in the continental AI space. This report also documents how AI is being embedded in key sectors; agriculture, health, law, and the creative economy to address uniquely African challenges – from crop failure and disease surveillance to language preservation and cultural expression. These use cases affirm the value of locally informed, contextsensitive AI innovation. On the governance front, the adoption of the AU-AI Continental Strategy and the development of national AI policies signal a growing awareness of the need for harmonised, responsible and inclusive AI development. However, effective implementation remains a central concern, particularly around enforcement mechanisms, ethical guardrails, and regional coordination. This report presents a nuanced picture of AI in Africa: one of ambitious experimentation, uneven capacity, and deep potential. Africa’s future in AI depends not only on technological advancement but on the continent’s ability to embed equity, local relevance, and sustainability at the heart of its AI agenda." (Executive summary) more

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State of digital development and trends in the CIS region: Challenges and opportunities

Geneva: ITU (2025), iv, 47 pp.

"This publication offers a comprehensive overview of digital development in the CIS region. The data reveal a region where nine in ten people are online—well above the global average—and where mobile broadband networks now cover virtually the entire population. These are important milestones. At ... more

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State of digital development and trends in the Africa region: Challenges and opportunities

Geneva: ITU (2025), iv, 49 pp.

"This publication reveals that the gap between ambition and reality remains wide. Mobile broadband coverage has expanded rapidly, offering most of the population the possibility of going online. And yet, only 38 per cent of the population currently uses the Internet—the lowest rate among all ITU r ... more

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Our Media, Our Democracy, Our Future. The Future of the Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey – Facts and Trends. Regional Overview
Deep Insights

Sanela Hodžic, Sandra B. Hrvatin

Sarajevo; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 57 pp.

"The results of the research conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey suggest that the key determinants for the future of our media and democracies are the following: • The poor socio-economic status of journalists and their exposure to ... pressure and attacks, coupled with modest support mechanisms, cripple the ability of journalists to promote the public interest, report on key issues of public interest, and hold power to account. In the most extreme cases, the pressure involves imprisonment, interrogation, surveillance, and lawsuits aimed at silencing journalists. • The lack of consistent monitoring and registration of cases of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) in the region, with dozens of lawsuits against journalists filed by political officials and their affiliates. • A growing number or media outlets, but a declining number of journalism students, highlighting concerns about the future shrinking of staff numbers in media newsrooms and about the growing automatization of journalism. The most drastic drop was in North Macedonia, with the number of journalism students in 2023 amounting to only 11% of the number from ten years ago and 50% of the number from 2000. • The number of media outlets is growing, mostly in the online sector, while print media outlets are becoming increasingly endemic. • A worrying trend of overt concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few media conglomerates, often tied to national or foreign governments, that takes a toll on media freedom and pluralism. • The dominant instrumentalization (through ownership and funding) of media (including private and public) for particular political and/or business interests limits the space for editorial independence and integrity. • Non-profit media are still a rarity in the region, with only a few non-profit radio broadcasters in some countries, and an unknown number of online platforms of civil society organizations with a community-focused mission. • Lack of transparency of the media sector, particularly a lack of accessible and reliable information concerning the media industry and the media market. • Advertising is the main source of revenues in the media sector, with the total revenues ranging between EUR 12 million in Montenegro and over EUR 4 billion in Turkey. • Although it is declining, the TV sector is still dominant in terms of its share of advertising revenues, while social media’s share is increasing, and in Turkey it amounts to as much as 45.7% of advertising revenues. • The tech giants such as Google and Meta are an increasingly dominant competitor for media outlets in the region, jeopardizing the future sustainability of national and local media outlets and potentially curbing political pluralism in public communication. • Public funding for the media, including funding of public broadcasters (declining in four out of seven countries), grants, and subsidies for media outlets and government advertising, amounts to several to dozens of millions of euros per country, taking up an important share of media revenues, but without proactive transparency, effective guarantees of editorial independence, well-defined purpose and evaluation, the opportunities to make public funding for the media an important instrument of media democratization remain under-used. • The representation of different age, gender, ethnic, religious, and other groups in media content and in the newsrooms’ staff is limited. In multiethnic communities some policies promote ethnic diversity of media content, while other identity axes are largely neglected and pluralism in public communication is very limited. Women are an important, and in many countries even dominant, workforce in the media, but remain underrepresented in managerial posts." (Executive summary) more

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Africa’s shifting media landscapes: Digital media use grows, but so do demographic divides

Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz, Kelechi Amakoh, Komi Amewunou

Afrobarometer (2024), 19 pp.

"Afrobarometer data support the notion that the use of digital media is exploding across the continent, although rates of uptake may have slowed in recent years. However, these new media environments also pose challenges. Reduced barriers to access and the decline of gatekeepers can also mean that f ... more

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Media in Africa: Issues and Critiques

Toks Oyedemi, René A. Smith (eds.)

New York; London: Routledge (2024), 232 pp.

"Featuring contributions from global scholars, that represent both new and established voices on the African continent and the diaspora, this volume explores themes of decolonization, media freedom, media censorship, identity, representation, pluralism, media framing, political economy of the media ... more

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Mutation du paysage médiatique d'Afrique : L’usage des médias numériques augmente, mais les fossés démographiques aussi

Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz, Kelechi Amakoh, Komi Amewunou

Afrobarometer (2024), 20 pp.

"Les données d'Afrobarometer corroborent l'idée que l'utilisation des médias numériques est en pleine explosion sur le continent, bien que les taux d'adoption aient pu ralentir au cours des dernières années. Cependant, ces nouveaux environnements médiatiques sont également source de défis. ... La réduction des obstacles à l'accès et le repli des autorités de régulation pourraient aussi signifier que les informations erronées et les propos incitant à la discorde, y compris les discours de haine et les appels à la violence, se répandent plus rapidement, avec moins souvent la possibilité de vérifier les faits et d'étouffer les propos préjudiciables. En outre, les fractures numériques défavorisant les femmes, les moins instruits, les pauvres, les habitants des zones rurales et les personnes âgées ne disparaissent pas. En réalité, nombre de ces fractures sont plus importantes aujourd'hui qu'elles ne l'étaient il y a près de 10 ans. En dépit de ces évolutions, un média de masse – la radio – continue de dominer le paysage médiatique du continent, son utilisation n'ayant connu qu'un modeste déclin au cours des dernières années. En outre, la radio est à bien des égards le média de masse le plus démocratique, car les clivages démographiques qui marquent l'accès aux médias numériques sont faibles, voire inexistants. Cela dit, nous devons être prudents et noter que la radio a ses propres inconvénients, notamment en ce qui concerne les informations erronées et les propos clivants. En raison des paysages médiatiques en évolution, les publics africains sont confrontés à des enjeux importants sur la manière dont ils interagissent avec les médias et sur la manière dont ils attendent de leurs gouvernements qu'ils traitent les médias. Les données d'Afrobarometer suggèrent que les Africains sont majoritairement favorables à ce que les médias jouent un rôle important dans l'obligation de rendre des comptes aux gouvernements, en particulier en ce qui concerne le fléau de la corruption. En outre, la grande majorité des Africains soutiennent le droit des médias d'informer comme ils l'entendent, sans ingérence gouvernementale. Enfin, une grande majorité de répondants considèrent que leurs médias sont largement libres, bien que les évaluations varient considérablement d'un pays à l'autre." (Conclusion) more

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The Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2024

London: GSMA (2024), 50 pp.

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The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2023
Deep Insights

London: GSMA (2023), 46 pp.

"Mobile connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to drive digital transformation and socioeconomic advancements. This underlines the need for continued efforts to address the persisting barriers that impact mobile internet adoption in the region, particularly the affordability of devices, online ... more

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Evading Accountability Through Internet Shutdowns: Trends in Africa and the Middle East

Global Partners Digital (2023), 38 pp.

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Regional E-Waste Monitor for the Western Balkans

Giulia Iattoni, Innocent Chidi Nnorom, Daesha Toppenberg, Ruediger Kuehr, Cornelis Peter Baldé

ITU; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR); (2023), 177 pp.

"The amount of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) Placed on Market (POM) in the Western Balkans region increased from 0.16 Mt (9 kg/inhabitant) in 2010 to 0.21 Mt (13 kg/inhabitant) in 2021. Likewise, the regional e-waste generated nearly doubled from 0.09 Mt (5.3 kg/inhabitant) in 2010 to 0. ... more

Atlas de Inteligencia Artificial para el Desarrollo Humano de América Latina y el Caribe Deep Insights

Índice Latinoamericano de Inteligencia Artificial (ILIA) 2025 Deep Insights

Mapping of media assistance and journalism support programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa Deep Insights

Mapping of media assistance and journalism support programmes in the Levant region Deep Insights

Our Media, Our Democracy, Our Future. The Future of the Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey – Facts and Trends. Regional Overview Deep Insights

The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2023 Deep Insights