Abstract:

The digital divide remains one of the most persistent structural barriers to equitable human development in Latin America. In Colombia, despite significant progress in ICT coverage, inequalities in access, affordability, skills, and meaningful use continue to reproduce long-standing socioeconomic disparities. To address this challenge, the Colombian Supreme Audit Institution (Contraloría General de la República) developed the Digital Divide Index – IBD-CGR, a multidimensional and annually replicable metric designed to quantify digital exclusion at territorial and socioeconomic levels.

This study presents the conceptual foundations, methodological evolution, and empirical results of the IBD-CGR for the period 2019–2024. The index is built using microdata from the national Household Quality of Life Survey (ECV–DANE), integrating 17 variables grouped into four equally weighted sub-indices:
(1) infrastructure;
(2) affordability;
(3) general-use digital skills; and
(4) applied-use skills (levels I and II), including educational, civic, and productive uses of ICT. All indicators are normalized to measure deficiency rather than possession, allowing the final score (0–100) to reflect the magnitude of digital exclusion.

Results reveal a strong negative correlation between household income and digital exclusion, with the poorest households consistently exceeding 80 points on the IBD-CGR scale, while the wealthiest groups remain near 35–40 points. Although poverty indicators (monetary, extreme, multidimensional) have improved since the COVID-19 crisis, digital exclusion has remained persistently high (national IBD-CGR of 70.73 in 2024), indicating a decoupling between economic recovery and effective digital inclusion.

The study also applies beta and sigma convergence analyses to assess whether territorial gaps in digital exclusion are narrowing. Findings show statistically significant beta convergence: departments with the highest initial digital exclusion (2019) experienced the fastest relative reductions between 2020 and 2024. Complementarily, sigma convergence—measured through the declining interdepartmental standard deviation—confirms a progressive reduction in absolute disparities across regions. While convergence does not eliminate all gaps, it demonstrates that national-level interventions and targeted programmes have had stronger impacts in the most disadvantaged territories.

However, persistent high levels of exclusion among low-income and rural households highlight structural barriers that remain unaddressed. The evidence suggests that policies focusing solely on connectivity or poverty reduction are insufficient. Instead, a multidimensional approach is required, integrating infrastructure investment, affordability strategies, advanced digital-skills formation, and meaningful-connectivity frameworks aligned with global standards (ITU, WEF-Portulans).

The IBD-CGR contributes to global debates by offering a robust, transparent, and adaptable measurement tool for monitoring digital inequality. Its methodological design—combining multidimensionality, annual replicability, and territorial granularity—makes it relevant for countries seeking evidence-based strategies to promote digital justice, educational equity, and inclusive digital citizenship within the broader 2030 SDG Agenda.

Keywords:

Digital divide, ICT access, meaningful connectivity, public policy evaluation, territorial inequality, convergence analysis, digital skills, Latin America, Colombia.