Internet shutdowns costs global economy over $50B in last 5 years

Recent report reveals that global economy was affected significantly by the government partially or full internet blockages and shutdowns.

According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, government internet shutdowns have cost the global economy more than $50 billion since 2019. In 2023, these shutdowns affected almost 750 million people worldwide and cost the global economy over $9.1 billion.

The Top10VPN data show that since 2019, nearly 600 major internet shutdowns across the globe, totalling more than 205,000 hours of disruptions.

Analyzed by year, 2019 saw the highest number of internet blockages, 134 lasting more than 19,200 hours. Statistics show 2022 remains the absolute record year in terms of total economic cost. That year alone, internet blockages cost the world economy a shocking $24.6 billion. That means almost half the five-year cost of internet blockages and shutdowns happened that year.

Still, 2023 saw the longest total duration of internet blockages. Although the total economic cost of government-caused internet shutdowns dropped by 60% to $9.1 billion, last year saw more than 79,000 hours of internet disruptions, the highest number in the past five years.

Analyzed by geography, Russia is undoubtedly the most affected nation by government-caused internet blockages and shutdowns. In 2023 alone, the total cost of internet and social media blockages in the country hit over $4 billion, while the five-year figures climb to over $25 billion, or half the world`s total in this period.

The Top10VPN data also showed that X, formerly Twitter, is generally the most blocked social media platform, suffering more than 10,600 hours of deliberate disruption in 2023, 26% more than TikTok and 18% more than Instagram.

Also, over half of all government internet outages last year were associated with additional human rights abuses, most frequently restricting freedom of assembly.

The full story and statistics can be found here:  https://stocklytics.com/content/the-world-economy-has-lost-over-50-billion-due-to-internet-shutdowns-in-the-past-five-years/