Bangladesh has the widest gender gaps in smartphone ownership and mobile internet use among low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
A new report by the GSM Association (GSMA), commonly known GSMA or Global System for Mobile Communications, highlights a persistent digital divide despite growing awareness of online services among women.
The report also points to deeper structural challenges. Even when women have similar levels of education, income and literacy as men, they remain less likely to use mobile internet, suggesting that social norms and other systemic barriers continue to restrict digital inclusion.
The report, The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2026, found that women in Bangladesh are 40 per cent less likely than men to own a smartphone and 38 per cent less likely to use mobile internet—the largest gaps recorded among the 14 LMICs countries surveyed.
While mobile internet adoption among women remained stagnant over the past year, usage among men continued to edge upward, leaving the divide largely unchanged.
Only 26 per cent of adult women in Bangladesh use mobile internet, compared with 43 per cent of men, according to the report. Women’s usage remained unchanged between 2024 and 2025, while male usage increased from 42 per cent to 43 per cent during the same period.
Both the previous reports were published in May of each respective year.
The figures show only modest progress from 2023, when 24 per cent of women and 40 per cent of men used mobile internet. Despite that improvement, Bangladesh continues to record one of the widest gender disparities globally.
The country also has one of the largest gaps in overall mobile phone ownership. About 80 per cent of women own a mobile phone, compared with 90 per cent of men, resulting in a 20 per cent ownership gap. Only Pakistan, at 27 per cent, and Ethiopia, at 22 per cent, reported wider gaps.
The divide is even more pronounced when it comes to smartphones. The report found that Bangladeshi women are 40 per cent less likely than men to own a smartphone, the highest disparity among all countries included in the survey.
Ethiopia follows with a 36 per cent gap, while Uganda, Nigeria and India recorded gaps of 33 per cent, 26 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.
The findings come despite a gradual rise in awareness of mobile internet among women. In Bangladesh, awareness increased to 68 per cent in 2025, up from 66 per cent in 2024 and 65 per cent in 2023.
However, the report notes that awareness has not translated into adoption. A major drop-off remains between knowing about mobile internet and owning an internet-enabled device, suggesting that access to smartphones continues to be a critical barrier for many women.
Bangladesh’s performance also contrasts sharply with broader regional trends.
Across South Asia, the gender gap in mobile internet adoption narrowed from 33 per cent in 2024 to 25 per cent in 2025, driven largely by gains in India and Pakistan. Bangladesh’s gap, however, remains significantly higher than the regional average.
The report found that women who do use mobile internet tend to engage less frequently and for fewer purposes than men. Communication and entertainment—including instant messaging, social media and video content—remain the most common activities for both genders.
According to the GSMA, affordability—particularly the cost of handsets—along with limited literacy and digital skills, remain the biggest barriers preventing women from coming online in Bangladesh and other low- and middle-income countries.
For women already using mobile internet, concerns about safety and security, as well as the cost of data, are among the main factors limiting more frequent use.
Globally, the gender gap in mobile internet adoption across low- and middle-income countries narrowed slightly to 12 per cent in 2025 from 14 per cent a year earlier. Women now account for 65 per cent mobile internet adoption, compared with 74 per cent among men.
Despite the improvement, the GSMA estimates that around 810 million women across low- and middle-income countries remain offline, with the majority living in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
