In 2024, 2.6 billion people – one third of the global population – remained completely offline, meaning they had not used the Internet even once in the last three months. In fact, many more are technically “online” but still lack the level of access needed to participate in today’s digital society. Rural communities, low-income groups, people with lower levels of education, and women – especially in low and middle-income countries – remain the least likely to have meaningful access.
Although Internet use grows each year, progress is slowing, and the world is even further from achieving the global digital development community’s vision for universal and meaningful connectivity, which requires fast, reliable, secure and affordable access on an Internet-enabled device that users own, coupled with the digital skills needed to participate fully in the online world.At the same time, every sector of the economy and society is undergoing digital transformation. Governments, businesses, employers and service providers increasingly expect people to engage digitally. Without deliberate action, those not meaningfully connected risk exclusion from essential services and economic opportunities. Preventing this exclusion calls for innovative, inclusive approaches that meet people where they are.
Although often overlooked, posts already support digital inclusion. The latest edition of the UPU’s Digital Panorama report shows that many posts now provide essential digital services that promote inclusion in the digital society and economy:
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71% promote economic inclusion through e-commerce services;
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58% promote financial inclusion through digital financial services;
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51% promote social inclusion through e-government services; and
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70% directly contribute to bridging digital divides through provision of at least one digital connectivity service.
Moreover, posts are offering services through a “multi-channel service delivery” approach. This allows people to access services not only online through websites and mobile apps, but also in person at digitally enabled post office counters, or through delivery staff equipped with mobile devices. For individuals without meaningful digital access or skills, this hybrid model offers a vital entry point into the digital economy. Transforming post offices into one-stop shops for essential digital services presents a cost-effective way to reach underserved communities and expand market access for governments and other service providers.
Yet the ability of postal networks to support national digital transformation remains under-harnessed. Nearly 100,000 post offices – almost one in six worldwide – are still offline, many of them in rural and remote communities where connectivity gaps are greatest. Without Internet access, post offices cannot offer digital services or serve as digital access points for governments, the private sector and development partners. Despite the sector’s significant contributions and potential, the connectivity of post offices is not mentioned in the Global Digital Compact or in recent high-level reports on tackling the digital divide.
The UPU’s flagship Connect.post initiative aims to close these gaps by ensuring that every post office is connected to the Internet and enabled to deliver inclusive digital services for the people that need them most. It is more than a connectivity programme; it is a platform for inclusive and sustainable digital transformation built around the world’s most extensive human-centred service network of 650,000 post offices, most in rural areas. Its core principle is simple: if you connect a post office, you connect a community.
Once digitally enabled, post offices can become one-stop shops providing e-government services such as ID updates, vital records or social protection enrolment, support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), e-commerce services, digital financial services, and assistance for communities to access the Internet and digital equipment. While many posts already offer such services, they remain under-leveraged in developing countries where digital divides are most prominent and where this approach would be most transformative. Connect.post seeks to scale these efforts systematically.
We are building an evidence base through research on how postal networks advance digital inclusion, developing a mapping platform for post office connectivity, and conducting country assessments that identify practical opportunities for governments to leverage their postal infrastructure. This informs both our global advocacy efforts and our direct technical support to member countries.
With support from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, we are equipping post offices across 10 small island developing states, least developed countries and landlocked developing countries with the connectivity they need, with more expansion planned as partnerships grow. We also help governments prepare proposals for development funding and strengthen local capacities to implement digital transformation through the postal network. In addition, we are collaborating with the UPU’s TradePost project to support posts in introducing e-commerce services for small businesses, and with private sector partners to broaden the range of digital service offerings – including e-government services – that can be delivered through post offices.
We encourage governments, UN institutions and donors to partner with and invest in Connect.post. Connecting and upgrading post offices offers a cost-effective, scalable pathway to ensure that digital opportunities reach every community.
Kevin Hernandez
Digital Inclusion Expert at the UPU International Bureau