Bivariate Analysis of Household Access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Education in Somaliland: Evidence from the SLHDS 2020

In the modern world, the ability to connect to the internet has become as essential as electricity or clean water for learning and growing. It is the bridge that allows a student to access a library, a teacher to reach a classroom, and a family to participate in the global economy. Yet, this bridge is not built equally for everyone. In many parts of the world, a deep divide separates those who can easily reach the digital world from those who cannot. This gap, often called the digital divide, is not just about having a device; it is about who gets to use it, where they live, and how much money they have. When a society cannot connect its people to information, it risks leaving entire generations behind, unable to compete or thrive in an increasingly digital future. Understanding exactly who is connected and who is left out is the first step toward fixing the problem.

A recent study focused on Somaliland, a self-declared republic in the Horn of Africa that has worked hard to rebuild its institutions since the early 1990s. Despite having a private telecommunications sector that offers some of the cheapest mobile rates in Africa, researchers wanted to know if this infrastructure was actually helping ordinary families access education. To find the answer, the team, led by Ahmed Abdirahman Ibrahim, turned to a massive dataset called the Somaliland Demographic and Health Survey from 2020. This survey captured the lives of more than 20,000 household members, providing a rare and detailed snapshot of the country's reality. The researchers did not just look at whether people had phones; they specifically investigated who had access to the internet for educational purposes and what factors, such as wealth, location, or schooling, determined that access.

The results paint a picture of a nation where the internet remains a privilege for the few rather than a tool for the many. When the data was adjusted to represent the entire country, the researchers found that only about 12 percent of the population had internet access. This means that for nearly nine out of ten people in Somaliland, the digital world is out of reach. The divide is not random; it follows a strict pattern based on where a person lives and how much money their family has. People living in cities are significantly more likely to be connected than those in the countryside. In urban areas, roughly 12 percent of people have access, but this number drops to just over 1 percent for those living in rural villages and even lower for nomadic communities who move across the land. For a nomadic family, the chance of having internet access is so small it is almost non-existent.

Money plays an even more dramatic role in who gets online. The study revealed a stark gap between the rich and the poor. Among the wealthiest families, about 14 percent have internet access. In contrast, among the poorest families, the number is less than 1 percent. The middle-income group is not faring much better, with access rates hovering near zero. This suggests that the cost of devices and data is a barrier that the vast majority of the population simply cannot cross. Education also acts as a powerful gatekeeper. People who have attended higher levels of school are much more likely to be connected, with nearly 29 percent of them having internet access. Meanwhile, those with no formal education at all have an access rate of less than 3 percent. This indicates that the ability to use the internet is closely tied to the ability to read, write, and understand its value.

The researchers also looked at other factors, such as gender and marital status, and found that while these did make a difference, they were far less important than wealth and location. For instance, households led by women had a slightly higher rate of access than those led by men, but both groups were still largely disconnected compared to the wealthy urban elite. The study concludes that the current situation is not just a technical issue but a structural one. The market forces that have built a strong telecommunications network in Somaliland have not been enough to bring the internet to the poor or to remote areas. Without government intervention, the gap is likely to widen, leaving the poor and rural populations further behind in education and economic opportunity.

To address this, the author suggests that the government and other leaders must take specific actions to level the playing field. They recommend that the country invest heavily in building infrastructure in rural and nomadic zones, where the market has failed to reach. They also propose that the government help low-income families by reducing taxes on affordable devices or by making educational websites free to access. Furthermore, schools should be equipped with computers and internet connections, especially since the study shows that higher education is currently the main path to getting online. By bringing digital tools into primary and middle schools, the country could help the next generation of students, many of whom currently have no formal education, to become digitally literate. The goal is to ensure that the internet becomes a tool for everyone, not just an elite privilege, so that the entire nation can move forward together.