Dhaka, April 16 -- A wide digital divide persists between rural and urban Bangladesh in individual internet usage, with a gap of 32.1 percentage points, according to the latest survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Only 43.6 per cent of individuals in rural areas use the internet, compared to 75.7 per cent in urban areas, the survey shows.

The findings were disclosed on Thursday at the BBS headquarters in Agargaon under the "Survey on Measuring ICT Access and Usage". Nationwide, 53.4 per cent of people use the internet. However, access remains heavily skewed towards cities, where over three-quarters of residents are online, while less than half of rural citizens have access.

High service costs appear to be a key barrier, with ...