Kathmandu. Nepal has scored 68.1 points in the ‘ICT Development Index 2026’ published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the umbrella organization of the telecommunications sector under the United Nations. Nepal, which was not included in the index for three years due to lack of data, is making a comeback this time and has appeared on the world map. Since 2023, Nepal was not included in the index because it could not send timely and complete data.
Nepal is listed this year after providing at least 5 of the total 10 official indicators. However, there is a gap between the infrastructure expansion and its actual use in the digital development of Nepal, which is in the group of low-middle income countries. In the two pillars of the index, Nepal’s score is 83.7 in ‘Meaningful Connectivity’ and 52.5 in ‘Universal Connectivity’. This total gap of 31.2 shows that even though the internet infrastructure and network access has increased in Nepal, its actual use and adoption is slow.
Under Meaningful Connectivity, ITU measures things like infrastructure expansion, devices, accessibility, digital skills, online security, while Universal Connectivity measures the state of internet use and how consumers use or adopt the internet. According to the report, the ‘usage gap’ is when people do not use the internet despite the availability of infrastructure.
“As income increases, the gap between these two pillars narrows,” the report says, “in high-income countries, this gap is only 4 points, while in some developing countries where the usage gap is high, there is a difference of 24 points.”
The regulatory Nepal Telecommunication Authority has admitted that there is still work to be done to increase the use of information and communication technology. “Although the expansion of our infrastructure looks encouraging, it seems that we still need to work in terms of usage,” said Meen Prasad Aryal, spokesperson of the authority, “We plan to move forward by making special strategies and action plans based on various indicators to improve where we are now.”
Nepal’s overall score in information and communication technology development is 68.1, which is lower than the global and regional average. According to the report, the average score of the world is 79, while the average score of the Asia Pacific region is 80. Spokesperson Aryal says that now a special strategy and action plan is needed to bring Nepal to the forefront of digital maps. He says that attention should be paid not only to infrastructure expansion but also to its productive use and quality.
Nepal is in the middle position in digital competition with South Asian countries. Bhutan leads the region with 86.4 points while Sri Lanka is second with 78.2 points. Bangladesh’s score is 68.9 and Pakistan’s 67.7. India is not included in the index. Bhutan and Sri Lanka’s strides in digital development can be a lesson for Nepal.
According to Aryal, the challenge is to strengthen the legal system and the implementation to improve the situation in Nepal. In the report, the state of information and communication technology is measured on the basis of 10 different indicators. According to this, 48.4 percent of people in Nepal use the Internet, while 73.1 percent of people in Nepal have their own mobile phones.
In terms of household access, 52.5 percent of households have access to the Internet. Similarly, 90 percent of Nepal’s population has access to 3G mobile network while 81.6 percent uses 4G/LTE. The mobile broadband subscription rate is 55.4 per 100 inhabitants. A monthly average of 17.6 GB per mobile broadband subscription and a monthly average of 43.7 GB per fixed broadband subscription are seen.
The cost of high-consumption mobile data and voice services is 2.9 percent of Nepal’s per capita gross national income. The cost of entry-level fixed broadband service under the fixed broadband basket is 1.1 percent of Nepal’s gross national income per capita. Average data consumed on mobile broadband subscriptions, data on fixed broadband internet traffic is not available.
ITU also used estimated data on internet users, internet access at home and mobile ownership. ITU has said that it keeps estimated data based on the World Bank, trends of previous years and other details. This year’s index required data from at least 5 official indicators. Nepal has completed that. Spokesman Aryal said that the authority is preparing to introduce the latest technology like 5G and increase digital skills. He said that the goal is to improve the situation in Nepal by strengthening the data system in the coming year.